Another zora [ritual pot] to which the chief and the ko-gangmo
[woman of peace] are both related is the zora-dengimo, or amaryllis pot. [Dénis]
Adzia and [Secrétaire] Abbo explain that when a new village site is desired,
but for reasons not sufficiently critical to ask for chief's nephew for ritual
assistance, the chief himself will seek a soré [Anona senegalensis] tree
at the new site. He takes a soré leaf in his hand, knots it, and invokes
a blessing: "I bind up a new village right here! May peace and health reign
in our village! May we find abundant food in this place!" Then he builds
a new house next to the soré tree. The morning following the first night
spent in his new house, the chief rises very early. He unties the knotted soré
leaf, saying, "My village that I bound up right here, I now open it up!
May no danger come to us here! May death stay away! May our village grow, and
may our wives give birth to many children!" (Christenson, An African Tree
of Life, p. 44)

"Ten presidential candidates confirmed." IRIN, 30
July 1999.
NAIROBI, 30 Jul 1999 (IRIN) - The Constitutional Court in Bangui on Friday published
the official list of 10 candidates for the presidential election, the first
round of which is scheduled for late August. The country’s five leading
political figures have declared their candidacy as expected, Radio France Internationale
reported. They included President Ange-Felix Patasse, two former heads of state,
Andre Kolingba and David Dacko, and two former prime ministers, Enoch-Derant
Lakoue and Jean-Paul Ngoupande. The other candidates confirmed were: Abel Goumba,
who was unsuccessful in the 1993 presidential elections; Justice Henri Pouzere,
a lawyer at Libreville Courts; businessman Joseph Abossolo; former minister
Charles Massi; and telecommunications engineer Fidele Ngouanjika.

ABT ASSOCIATES cf. ABTASSOC.comwww.abtassoc.com Bethesda, MD
& Cambridge, MA
Note: "Abt Associates applies rigorous research and consulting techniques
to a wide range of issues in social and economic policy, international development,
business research and consulting, and clinical trials and registries."
(www.abtassoc.com)
Note: "Employee-owned Abt Associates is one of the world's largest for-profit
government and business research and consulting firms... In 2001, Abt Associates
paid Patton Boggs $80,000 to lobby the US House of Representatives, the U.S.
Senate... " (www.publicintegrity.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=1"

Cf. "Central African Republic Health Economics Analysis"

"Under the Health Financing and Sustainability Act, Abt
Associates provided economic analysis to the team designing a five-year $14
million child survival and cost recovery project for the Central African Republic.
The analysis included the cost effectiveness of interventions such as immunization,
prevention and control of diarrheal disease, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and high-risk
births. In addition, the project required several other analyses in order to
determine the sustainability of the projects, including an analysis of the national
budget for the years 1985-1991, recommendations for improving efficiency in
the public health system, analysis of the economic benefits of implementing
a generic drug policy, and a discussion of the potential revenue generation
from cost recovery efforts at hospitals and peripheral facilities."
(www.abtassociates.com/Page.cfm?PageID=1600&FamilyID=1600&OWID=2109767171&CSB=1)

Abubakar, Sa'ad. The Lamibe of Fombina: a political history of Adamawa, 1809-1901.
London & Zaria, 1977. This study focuses on Yola but includes information
about the Adamawa emirates, including Ngaoundere, which sent slave raiding expeditions
into Gbaya territory in what is today the CAR.

ACABEF cf. ASSOCIATION CENTRAFRICAINE POUR LE BIEN
ÊTRE FAMILIAL (NGO)
Note: L'Association Centrafricaine pour le Bien Être Familial (ACABEF),
formed in 1986, is assisting the government in its formation and implementation
of a National Population Policy. With over a thousand volunteers, ACABEF runs
a model clinic in Bangui, which aims to improve access to contraception and
other reproductive health services. ACABEF also has a project focusing on empowerment
and economic security. ACABEF's work targets adolescent reproductive health
as well as the needs of rural and peri-urban women. (www.womenwarpeace.org/car/central_african.htm)

NAIROBI, 18 Jul 2001 (IRIN) - Thousands of people who fled
the violence that followed the attempted coup in the Central African Republic
capital Bangui in late May have returned to their homes, and others are arriving
daily, aid agencies and witnesses said on Thursday. According to AFP, the agencies
- Italian NGO COOPI, local organisation ACABEF and the Central African branch
of the Red Cross - said about 10,000 of the estimated 60,000 to 70,000 residents
who joined the exodus had returned. Witnesses told AFP that each day further
groups of people, weighed down with the possessions they took with them, were
arriving home. The agencies told AFP they had been caring for some 50,000 people
who fled to the Lobaye district south of Bangui in the wake of the failed 28
May 28 coup.

ACTION ÉCONOMIQUE ET SOCIALE Cf. ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL ACTION CONSEIL REPRESENTATIF DE L'OUBANGUI-CHARI, REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL
OF UBANGI-SHARI
A political party started by Barthélemy Boganda and his lieutenants for
elections to the Representative Council of Ubangi-Shari in 1946

On 25 October 1946, a Representative Council of Ubangi-Shari
was established by decree and elections were set to take place on 15 December.
The colony was divided into only four huge voting districts: Bangui, Berberati
(southwest), Sibut (north-central), and Bangassou (southeast). After Boganda’s
departure for Paris, George Darlan and a small group of his lieutenants drew
up a list of candidates for the Action Economique et Sociale (Economic and Social
Action) party in all four districts which received the backing of both the Catholic
missions and the French administration because they wanted to limit the influence
of Alibert and Gandji-Kobokassi....
Gamona, Bafatori and Gono were elected in Berberati, Georges Darlan, Bernard
Condomat, Henri Kinkol, Jacque Koppe and Arthur Onghaie in Bangui, Antoine Darlan,
Benoit Mombeto, Louis Yetina, Barthelemy Zinga-Piroua, and Pierre Enza in Sibut,
and Vermaud Hetman and Ibrahim Tello in Bangassou. The socialists running for
election in Bangui were Jean-Marie Kobozo, Alphonse Dongouale, Barnabe Nzilavo,
Theophile Ngini, and Tiemoko-Darra. The socialists-communists in Sibut were
Antoine Gabati, Ferdinand Bassamongou, Emile Embi-Maidou, Gabriel Pounaba, and
Augustin Bayonne. (Pénel, Boganda, p. 33).

Cf. Dietrich, Christian. "Hard Currency: The Criminalized
Diamond Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its Neighbors,"
The Diamonds and Human Security Project, Occasional Paper 2??, June 2002, action.web.ca/home/pac/attach/hc_report_e.pdf

The Union nationale centrafricaine, founded by Michel Adama
Tamboux, president of the National Assembly from 1960 to 1965, and ambassador
to the UN and then to Egypt between 1970 and 1979. (ACR, 1981, B408)

Adamolkun, Ladipo. "World Bank support for public administration
programs in the Central African Republic." EDI working paper. Economic
Development Institute of the World Bank, 1988.

ADENIJI
Oluyemi Adeniji, UN Secretary-General Annan's Special Representative and head
of the UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) in 1999.

Cf. "Council urges joint reconciliation efforts."
IRIN, 22 March 1999.
NAIROBI, 22 Mar 1999 (IRIN) - The UN Security Council last week called on all
political leaders in the CAR to work together towards full implementation of
the Bangui Agreements and the National Reconciliation Pact. In a statement,
Council President Qin Huasun of China said members also urged the government,
in collaboration with all political parties, to take concrete steps to establish
a new electoral commission for presidential elections, scheduled for later this
year, and to continue efforts to restructure its security forces. The statement
was made after the Council received a briefing on the situation in the country
by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Oluyemi Adeniji,
who is also head of the UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA).

"Looted weapons destroyed." IRIN, 13 July 1999.
NAIROBI, 13 Jul 1999 (IRIN) - Some 158 light weapons were destroyed in the capital,
Bangui, on Friday as part of a disarmament operation undertaken by the UN Mission
in CAR (MINURCA). In a statement received by IRIN on Monday, MINURCA said the
destroyed weapons, thrown into fire during a symbolic ceremony, were either
defective or of unknown origin and had been recuperated by MINURCA or the former
African MISAB forces since 1997. "This destruction of weapons constitutes....a
systematic rejection of the instruments of war,"
UN Special Representative Oluyemi Adeniji was quoted as saying in the statement.
He added this "proved that the people of CAR have understood that those
instruments contribute to a form of regression and to hindering development".
Some 1,590 light and heavy weapons - out of 2,507 that were looted - have been
recuperated since the start of the operation, which followed clashes between
army mutineers and MISAB forces in June 1997. Also collected were 500,000 bullets
and 27,000 explosives, the statement said. Recuperated weapons that are not
destroyed will be handed over to local authorities at the end of MINURCA's mandate.
Meanwhile, UNDP has provided funds to compensate civilians who return weapons,
the statement added.

ADHERENTS.com - RELIGION BY LOCATION (religion, demography,
etc.)www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_64.html
- 49k -
Includes over 42,000 religious geography and religion statistics citations (membership
statistics for over 4,000 different religions, denominations, tribes, etc.)
for every country in the world. Demonstrates that statistics for membership
in Central African churches are only very approximate.

Another zora [ritual pot] to which the chief and the ko-gangmo
[woman of peace] are both related is the zora-dengimo, or amaryllis pot. [Dénis]
Adzia and [Secrétaire] Abbo explain that when a new village site is desired,
but for reasons not sufficiently critical to ask for chief's nephew for ritual
assistance, the chief himself will seek a soré [Anona senegalensis] tree
at the new site. He take a soré leaf in his hand, knots it, and invokes
a blessing: "I bind up a new village right here! May peace and health reign
in our village! May we find abundant food in this place!" Then he builds
a new house next to the soré tree. The morning following the first night
spent in his new house, the chief rises very early. He unties the knotted soré
leaf, saying, "My village that I bound up right here, I now open it up!
May no danger come to us here! May death stay away! May our village grow, and
may our wives give birth to many children!" (Christenson, An African Tree
of Life, p. 44)

Adzia explains that knotting the soré leaf symbolically
draws the villagers together in one place under the peace established by the
soré and prevents them from scattering into various other settlements.
Untying the soré leaf indicates that the villagers have indeed settled
in a new place. Their new village is now visible; henceforth, they are free
to lead a new life. (Christenson, An African Tree of Life, p. 44)

AFP cf. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

"Election results announced." IRIN, 23 December 1998.
NAIROBI, 23 Dec 1998 (IRIN) - The party of President Ange-Felix Patasse, the
Mouvement de liberation du peuple centrafricain (MLPC) won 49 of the 109 seats
in the legislative elections of 22 November and 13 December, AFP said yesterday.
Citing results released by the constitutional court in the capital Bangui, AFP
said eight opposition parties won a total of 53 seats and the remaining seven
seats were won by independent candidates. As no party got an absolute majority
in the new parliament, the seven independent candidates hold the balance of
power needed to form a government, it added.

1983
When Gen. André Kolingba became Head of State in a military coup in September
1981, he suspended the Constitution and all political party activities but allowed
political leaders to retain their freedom. Members of the military regime tended
to support one or other of the political parties or their leaders - among them,
Dr Abel Goumba, leader of the Oubangui Popular Front-Labour Party (FPO-PT).
He was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bangui in January 1982.
(ACR, 1983, B350)

AFRICA E-JOURNAL Cf. AFRICAACTION.org & GLOBALWITNESS.org
The Africa Policy E-Journal is a free information service provided by Africa
Action, including both original commentary and reposted documents. Africa Action
provides this information and analysis in order to promote U.S. and international
policies toward Africa that advance economic, political and social justice and
the full spectrum of human rights. Documents previously distributed in the e-journal
are available on the Africa Action website: http://www.africaaction.org
For more about Africa E-Journal: http://www.africaaction.org/resources/ejournal.php
To support Africa Action: http://www.africaaction.org/support/
To be added to or dropped from the e-journal subscription list, write to e-journal@africaaction.org.
Cf. Dietrich.

AFRICA ENERGY FORUM 2005 Cf. NDOUTINGAI

Mr Ndoutingaï was born May 24, 1972 in the Northern province
of the Central African Republic. After passing his baccalaureat in 1992 he studied
Business Management at the University Institute of Bangui where he obtained
his management degree in 1996. In 1998 he integrated and obtained the diploma
from the Ecole Nationale des Officiers d'Active, ENOA (Military Academy) of
Thiès (Senegal). He also graduated as a Barrister in International Civil
Rights in April 2000 Senegal. From 2001 to 2002 he joined the Ecole Militaire
d'Administration (Military Academy for Civil Service) in Koulikoro (Mali) where
he graduated as an Officer. He also holds a diploma in IT. His military career
includes: Commander of the Première Compagnie de Combat au Bataillon
D'infanterie Territoriale (BIT EX-RDOT) from September 2000 to 2001. Deputy
Officer of the Compagnie de Formation Elementaire des Techniques toutes Armes
from June to September 2001. Sports Officer of the BIT and Base Commander of
the BIT, 18 to 30 March 2001. (Africa Energy Forum 2005, Barcelona, World Trade
Centre, 22-24 June 2005,www.energynet.co.uk/aef/AEF2005/AEF05speakers.htm)

AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE

"CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Outlook Brightens for Grynberg."
General Francois Bozize's putsch in Bangui had no impact on the operations of
Grynberg Petroleum which controls a 13.7 million acre concession in the Doseo
and Salamat basins through its affiliate RSM. (...). (Africa Energy Intelligence,
no. 343 - 02/04/2003.)

AFRICA INLAND MISSION (AIM)
AIM page: http://www.aim-us.org/
Cf.
Note: The Africa Inland Mission (AIM) was founded in Philadelphia in 1895 by
Peter Cameron Scott from Great Britain, who immigrated with his parents to the
United States. AIM missionaries arrived in southeastern Ubangi-Shari in 1924.
AIM's objective was to evangelize "the darkest spot in Africa's continent
of darkness" and reached "untouched tribes [with] unreduced languages."
("Editorial: The Africa Inland Mission." Inland Africa, 11, 1 (1927):9,
as cited in Grootaers, "A History," pp. 189-190).
Cf. Inland Africa, AIM's journal.
Information on AIM, a missionary organization with over 850 missionaries in
15 African countries. Has a link to the web page of their school in Kenya, the
Rift Valley Academy. There is more information provided by the Billy Graham
Archives which hold the records of AIM including a history and detailed inventory
of AIM's records. They were especially active in Kenya, Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania,
Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Use the Graham Archives Search to locate
additional collections.
AIM Archives: http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/081.htm

AFRICAN INLAND MISSION ARCHIVESwww.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/081.htm#3
Note:
Cf. Central African Republic (folders 31-21, 32-14): Description of travel of
missionaries to and from Sudan; effect on the mission of independence of CAR
from France in 1961; questions about the AIM's medical policy and method of
starting new hospitals, 1971 goals for the training of nationals, report by
Dr. Joyce Nsubuga on medical care at Zemio station, strategy for dealing with
sleeping sickness at Zemio. Field director John Linquist is a frequent correspondent.
Folder 31-21 has some very early minutes of the joint Congo, Uganda and French
Equatorial Africa field council.

Cf. "Historical Background."

Historical Background
Africa Inland Mission (AIM) had its beginning in the work of Peter Cameron Scott
(1867-1896), a Scottish-American missionary of the International Missionary
Alliance who served two years in the Congo before he was sent to Scotland in
1892 because of a near-fatal illness. While recuperating, he developed his idea
of establishing a network of mission stations which would stretch from the southeast
coast of the continent to the interior area known as the Sudan, which had never
been evangelized by Christians. He was unable to interest any denomination in
this idea (including his own Presbyterian Church), but he was able to interest
several of his friends in Philadelphia in the work and in subscribing some funds.
This group formed itself in 1895 into the Philadelphia Missionary Council.
Scott quickly recruited several men and women who were willing to return with
him to Africa to start work. The emphasis on accepting these and other early
recruits was on their Christian commitment and personal uprightness rather than
on any special training. The mission was to be composed of the workers in the
field and would be entirely self-governing and independent of the Philadelphia
Missionary Council. The Council, headed by Rev. Charles Hurlburt, agreed ".
. . to spread the knowledge of the work and forward means and workers as God
may supply them. They are under no pledge to the mission to supply these, but
merely forward them as supplied," as an article in one of the first issues
of the Council's publication, Hearing and Doing, stated. The mission was Protestant
nondenominational. It would be a faith mission in the sense that it would not
advertise its need, but would depend on God to provide support. As Scott briefly
put it, "As to the work, full information, as to funds, non-solicitation."
Hurlburt was also president of the Pennsylvania Bible Institute, which provided
most of the mission's workers in its very early years.
On August 17, 1895, AIM's first mission party set off. The group consisted of
Scott, his sister Margaret, Frederick W. Krieger, Willis Hotchkiss, Minnie Lindberg,
Miss Reckling and Lester Severn. Walter M. Wilson joined the party in Scotland.
They arrived off the east African coast in October and Peter Scott started making
arrangements in the Kenyan seaport of Mombassa. In little over a year, the mission
had four stations--at Nzawi, Sakai, Kilungu, and Kangundo, all in Kenya. More
workers came from America, including Scott's parents, and the small group expanded
to fifteen.
In December 1896, Peter Scott died, partly because of the extremely hard pace
at which he had been driving himself. The mission almost dissolved in the next
year when most of the workers either died or resigned. The Council began to
take more responsibility for the work and appointed Hurlburt director of the
mission. After a survey trip to Africa, he returned to that continent to work
and he eventually brought his entire family over. For the next two decades,
he provided strong, if not undisputed, leadership for the headquarters, established
in 1903 at Kijabe, Kenya.
From Kenya, the mission expanded its work to neighboring areas. In 1909, a station
was set up in what was then German East Africa and later became Tanganyika,
and still later, Tanzania. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt intervened for his friend
Hurlburt to persuade the Belgian government to permit the mission to establish
a station in the Congo, now called Zaire. Work was begun in Uganda in 1918;
in French Equatorial Africa (Central African Republic) in 1924; Sudan, briefly,
in 1949; and the Comoro Islands in 1975. Besides evangelization, workers of
the mission ran clinics, hospitals, leprosariums, schools, publishing operations,
and radio programs. Rift Academy was built at Kijabe for missionary children.
Scott Theological College in Kenya helped train African Church leaders. The
churches founded by the mission in each of its fields were eventually formed
into branches of the Africa Inland Church which, however, continued to work
closely with the mission.
The government of the mission changed greatly over the years. The Philadelphia
Missionary Council dropped its other interests and reorganized itself as the
home council of AIM. Hearing and Doing (later Inland Africa) became the mission's
official publication. Committees were formed around the country to take the
responsibility for interviewing candidates and forwarding support from their
particular area. Support for the mission in Great Britain caused a British Home
Council to be organized in 1906. Later, similar councils or committees were
formed for France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Holland, and
the European continent as a whole.
In Africa, the workers in each field eventually formed their own field council,
with a field director, which was responsible for the work in that area. Among
the areas that formed field councils were Kenya, Congo (Zaire), Uganda, Tanzania,
French Equatorial Africa (Central African Republic), and the Sudan. While Hurlburt
was General Director or General Secretary, he was in practice the actual head
of the mission. After his retirement in 1927, the North American Home Council
began to exercise the authority it had in theory and was the head of the mission
for many years, with its general secretary as the executive head. This caused
complaints from other councils. In particular, missionaries in the field felt
that many important decisions were made with insufficient information about
African conditions. ("Historical Background," www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/081.htm#3)

Africa Inland Mission (AIM) was founded in 1895 by Peter Cameron
Scott, a young man whose goal was to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ inland
from the coast of Kenya on Africa’s eastern shore all the way to Chad
in central Africa. Scott and several of the original seven-member team died
shortly after arriving in Africa, and others left because of poor health. After
three years only one member remained. (www.aim-us.org/about_AIM/history/history.asp)

Cf. "Opposition to return to parliament." IRIN,
10 March 1998.
NAIROBI, 10 Mar 1998 (IRIN) - Opposition legislators who walked out of the National
Assembly in January have decided to return to their parliamentary seats, bringing
the country’s political impasse close to an end, Africa Number One radio
said on Sunday. The opposition members had left the 109-seat Assembly to protest
the defection of one of their legislators to the ruling party coalition following
his election in the UN-supervised November/December 1998 polls. The defection
had given President Ange Felix Patasse’s Mouvance Presidentielle a majority
in the parliament. “The boycott has never been an absolute rule,”
the radio, monitored by the BBC, quoted one opposition leader as saying.

Cf. "Skirmishes leave several dead in Bangui." IRIN,
25 June 1999.
NAIROBI, 25 Jun 1999 (IRIN) - Several Chadian herdsmen were killed during skirmishes
with CAR soldiers in the capital Bangui last weekend, a diplomatic source in
the city told IRIN on Friday. The clashes began when a small “misunderstanding”
between the herdsmen and a group of Bangui residents attracted soldiers to the
scene, the source said. One of the soldiers shot and killed a herdsmen, prompting
further confrontation. “About four or five Chadians were killed there,”
the diplomat said. Following the incident, President Ange-Felix Patasse apologised
“on behalf of the CAR to the sister Republic of Chad,” adding that
“relations between the CAR and Chad are indestructible,” Gabonese
Africa No 1 Radio reported.

AFRICA POLICY E-JOURNAL Cf. AFRICA ACTION
The Africa Policy E-Journal is a free information service provided by Africa
Action, including both original commentary and reposted documents. Africa Action
provides this information and analysis in order to promote U.S. and international
policies toward Africa that advance economic, political and social justice and
the full spectrum of human rights. Documents previously distributed in the e-journal
are available on the Africa Action website: http://www.africaaction.org
For additional background on this e-journal go to: http://www.africaaction.org/resources/ejournal.php
To support Africa Action with your contribution go to: http://www.africaaction.org/support/
To be added to or dropped from the e-journal subscription list, write to e-journal@africaaction.org.
For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the source
mentioned in the posting.
Cf. Dietrich, Christian.

AFRICA RESEARCH BULLETIN
Note: Africa Research Bulletin, formerly published monthly in London, collected
and published articles or radio news about Africa from sources all over the
world.

Cf. "Diplomatic Relations Between African States: Cameroon
- Central African Republic." Radio Libreville, 30 July 1966?: "Cameroon
is planning to establish a diplomatic mission in Libreville. The Ambassador
will have his residence in Bangui."

Cf. "M. Jean Bikanda, Cameroon's Ambassador to the Central
African Republic and the Congo Republic, has, in addition, been accredited to
Gabon. This is the first Ambassador which Cameroon has had in this country."
Le Moniteur African du Commerce et de l'Industrie, 10 October 1966?, cited in
ARB, 1966.

African communists who attended the Bamako conference in October
1946 established a new political party, the Rassemblement democratique africain
(RDA), or African Democratic Union, which was an alliance of parties formed
in many different colonies. Felix Houphouët-Boigny of the Ivory Coast was
the leading figure of this party and served as a deputy, alongside Boganda,
in the French National Assembly (Wilson, African Decolonization, 147).
The key issue for all the allied parties of the African Democratic Union was
the desire to eliminate the distinction between French “citizens”
and colonial “subjects” and to extend the franchise to all adult
Africans. They were opposed to the new Constitution, according to which all
French adults had the franchise and could vote as members of the first college,
but only a very select group of non-citizen colonial subjects could vote as
members of the second college.

Coffee production appears to have recovered from 11,400 tons
in 1986 to 15,000 tons in 1987. This partly reflects the end of the three year
recovery cycle after the serious drought in 1983. With the support of the World
Bank, the African Development Bank, the EC and France since 1986, the government
is promoting coffee growing among smallholders rather than the traditional plantations
(EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic," 1st Quarter 1988,
p. 21)

French businessmen complain that payment delays are making
it difficult to continue with certain project contracts. In June [1989] Bouygues
Dragages Cameroun, an affiliate of the large French construction group, had
still received no payments from the government for work begun on Bangui hospital
in September 1998. The problem is that the African Development Bank (ADB) is
only paying 75 per cent of the hospital's cost, and the government has to find
the balance. (EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic," 4th
Quarter 1989, p. 23)

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FUND cf. REDUNDANCY PROGRAM

The civil service minister, Daniel Sehoulia, has costed the
programme to reduce the number of government employees by 2,000 at CFAfr5.8
bn. This seems to consist largely of the redundancy payments: under the voluntary
departure programme staff leaving are each entitled to 40 months's salary. The
average official salary is CFAfr50,000 per month and Mr Sehoulia indicated that
by mid-November [1989] some 300 people had benefitted from this scheme, with
a further 300 about to join them. Yet there are still more hitches. On November
28 there was a public demonstration by more than 500 officials who were being
made redundant while already suffering from salary arrears. The basic problem
was that the government had run out of funds to meet the redundancy payments,
but the African Development Bank has now advanced the necessary money and the
programme has resumed...(EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic,"
1st Quarter 1990, p. 27)

Prior to the 6th century BC India was the only known source
of diamonds. All but one of the producers were alluvial. Rare mention was made
of diamonds in the early years of the Roman Empire but they effectively disappeared
for 1000 years. From the 11th century onward references were made to diamonds
from the East but it was only in the 13th century that kings, queens and nobles
begin to acquire diamond jewelry. The discovery by the Portuguese of a direct
route between India and Europe saw a major increase in the market in the early
1600's. The East India Company of London bought diamonds in Borneo and India
and auctioned them in London. The discovery of diamonds in Brazil in 1730 broke
the Indian monopoly. For 100 years Brazil was the major supplier to Europe.
As with India, diamonds were found in alluvial deposits along the banks of rivers.
In 1869 diamonds were first discovered in South Africa. Less than 20 years later
Cecil Rhodes consolidated South African producers into De Beers - thus began
the greatest cartel in history. For over 100 years De Beers controlled the world
diamond industry. Even today the company controls 65% of world production. South
Africa rapidly became the center of world diamonds. Though alluvial diamonds
were significant it was the discovery of diamonds in rock that changed the world.
The rock was named "kimberlite" after the area in which it was first
discovered. Five mines in the Kimberley area produced fabulous wealth, four
continue to produce.
Throughout the 20th century new hard rock mines were discovered in South Africa
- the Premier, the Finch and the Venetia to name but three. For over 130 years
South Africa has remained in the top 4 producers worldwide. In 1908 alluvial
diamonds were discovered in Namibia - a desert land. By following a long dried
up river bed vast wealth was discovered on the beaches and more recently in
the sea. Namibia's diamond production is mainly gemstone quality.
Angola was the next African country to discover alluvial diamonds in 1912. Over
a period of 60 years production grew until Angola became the 6th largest producer.
Civil war has devastated the area but with 600 known kimberlite pipes waiting
to be explored there is vast potential. In 1913 alluvial diamonds were discovered
in the Congo. Rapid expansion took place and for decades the Congo was the worlds
largest producer of mainly industrial diamonds. The deposit at MIBA is one of
the world's most prolific mines producing 6m carats in 2000. Political strife
and instability for over 40 years have greatly weakened the industry but significant
potential exists.

Major production is now dominated by Botswana, Australia, Russia, and Congo
Republic (Zaire), but South Africa is still a major producer, in both volume
and value.
In the early 1960's diamonds were discovered in Botswana. Today Botswana is
the worlds leading producer by value from four outstanding mines Orapa, Letlhakane,
Jwaneng and Damtshaa. These mines hold reserves for 100 years.
Systematic exploration in Russia began in the 1940's and within 10 years one
of the world's greatest discoveries was made, the Mir and Udachaya pipes. Russia
is the 4th largest producer in the world mainly from Udachaya which produced
12 million carats in 2001. There are over 1000 known kimberlite pipes in Russia.
In 1976 the first kimberlite pipe was discovered in Australia but it was only
in 1979 that the Argyle mine, now the worlds largest was found. This discovery
has revolutionized diamond geology because it was found in lamproites not kimberlite
and it was found in a younger aged rock. The diamonds from Argyle are small
and coloured with only 5% of gemstone quality.
Diamond exploration began in Canada in the late 1970's but it was not until
1990 that the Ekati kimberlite was found under a lake. The Ekati mine opened
in 1998. The prospecting rush, which followed the first discovery, has led to
three other economic discoveries Diavek, Snap Lake and Jerecho. The Canadian
discoveries are significant because two are being developed by the world's largest
mining companies, Billiton/BHP and Rio Tinto. These companies are larger than
De Beers and will do their own marketing. The third discovery, Snap Lake, is
a De Beers project. It is thought that Canada will be one of the world's largest
diamond producers by volume and value within 8 years.
Other countries have small diamond operations but one Sierra Leone has vast
potential. Civil conflict for 30 years has destroyed much of the country. Prior
to war Sierra Leone produced very high quality gemstone diamonds mainly alluvial.
It is believed that significant potential exists to expand production. (www.afdiamonds.com/_diamondMining/history.shtml)
Why Africa for Diamonds?
Africa is the richest continent for diamond mining. The major sources are in
the south with lesser concentrations in the west-central part of the continent.
The major producing countries are Congo Republic (Zaire), Botswana, South Africa,
Angola, Namibia, Ghana, Central African Republic, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and
Zimbabwe. Political turmoil in some countries has led to highly variable production
and severe degradation of the environment from uncontrolled mining. The best
place to look for diamonds is were there has been diamonds found before.
(www.afdiamonds.com/_diamondMining/history.shtml)
THE DIAMOND INDUSTRY
At minesite the world diamond industry is worth $10 billion. By the time the
stones become jewelry the industry is worth $60 billion.
The structure of the industry is:
Exploration -> Mining -> Sorting -> Polishing -> Retailing
Exploration
In the wilds of Africa, Russia, Canada and Australia prospectors look for "footprints"
or "indicators". Footprints are outcrops in rocks or changed shapes,
which may indicate the presence of kimberlite or lamproite. However, it is more
common that explorers search riverbeds past and present for minerals such as
garnets, which indicate that diamonds may be there. The reason for this is simple.
Diamonds are ancient, more than 100 million years old. The rock in which they
are contained has weathered and eroded. This results in diamonds being washed
along rivers and streams even into the ocean. Exploration methods depend on
whether alluvial or hard rock deposits are being sought. Alluvial deposits are
sampled by taking systematic bulk samples of material and assaying the samples
for diamonds. Hardrock exploration of pipes involves drilling, sampling and
drilling.
Hard Rock Mining
The unique feature of diamond mining is that the economics depend on finding
individual stones. One large gemstone can make a mine viable for years. Most
hard rock diamond mining is open-cast. Basically a conical pit is dug by blasting
the rock and removing it with mechanical shovels and trucks. The steeply dipping
pit may go to depths of 1000 feet. When the pit becomes too deep underground
mining takes over. Once the rock is mined it must be crushed and sorted.
Orapa open pit mine - Botswana
Crushing is a critical operation as large diamonds can be destroyed in the process.
Once crushed the ore is concentrated in a centrifuge type operation, which forces
the diamonds to the bottom of a container. It is estimated that on average 0.001
percent of the original ore makes it to the bottom. Sorting then separates the
diamonds from the rest of the concentrate. Many mines use a "Grease Belt".
Diamonds stick to grease while other minerals do not. More modern mines use
an X-Ray beam. Diamonds emit light when hit by an X-Ray. When the X-Ray hits
a diamond a jet of air blasts the stone into a box.
Alluvial Mining
This is a simple process - remove the overburden, dig the gravels and extract
the stones. The gravels are sieved into different sizes after which they are
sorted by hand on tables. Bigger operations use mechanical equipment and grease
tables. Recent developments have dredges working on rivers. They suck up the
gravels from the riverbed, sort on board and return the waste to the river.
Alluvial Mining
Marine Deposits
One of the greatest sources of gemstones in the world is the coast of Namibia.
Diamonds were washed along long dead rivers across Africa into the Atlantic.
Over the past 40 years vast quantities of gemstones have been recovered from
the beaches and now the seas of Namibia. Recovery methods are similar to alluvial
mining but involve huge tonnages and high-tech equipment, particularly the ships
operating offshore.
Sorting
This involves categorizing the diamonds into: Gemstones, Near Gemstones, Industrial
Diamonds. At this stage diamonds are known as "Rough". 80% of all
diamonds are industrial with 20% being of gemstone quality. Stones are sorted
by:
Sizes Sizes Shapes Stones Colours Water Clear
Smalls Shapes Fancy
Sands Flats Muddy
Macles
These classifications establish a price for the Rough Diamonds. Until 2001 there
was a cartel run by De Beers, which controlled 80% of all of the world's diamonds.
De Beers held 10 "sights" a year to which selected buyers were invited.
They were offered packages of assorted rough diamonds, which they bid on. If
the buyers did not purchase they were excluded from future sights. Over 50%
of all rough diamonds continue to be sold through De Beers. The marketing of
rough diamonds has changed radically with De Beers abandoning the cartel and
new companies now marketing their output directly. The objective of the cartel
was to control the price of rough diamonds. This it did for 100 years.
Polishing/Cutting
Polishing/Cutting is what makes a diamond. Cutting began in the 13th century
with the creation of a Point Cut, which was a polished flat eight-sided surface.
Later the Table Cut appeared which was a flat surface, which greatly increased
the amount of light returned to the eye. Later came the Rose Cut a flat bottom
and a triangular faceted crown. The Brilliant cut was created in the 19th century
by adding further facets to the Table Cut. These have now evolved into the Round
Brilliant Cut which has many facets. This is based on a mathematical model to
maximize light reflection and dispersion. Diamonds dictate how they should be
cut. Cuts conceal flaws and maximize brilliance. Beginning in the 13th Century
in Antwerp cutting skills have developed across the world with centers in New
York, Antwerp, Tel Aviv and India. India has over 800,000 cutters preparing
80% of the world's gemstones by volume (50% by value).
Retailing
"A Diamond is forever". This slogan developed by De Beers in the 1960's
is regarded as the best marketing slogan for the 20th century. It has become
the foundation for the entire industry. It was only after the 2nd World War
that attention was given to expanding the market for diamonds. With growing
wealth in Western countries and Japan diamond jewelery became affordable to
the masses in particular it became a symbol of love. Countries such as Japan
where diamond giving was unknown has become a major market. Now China and India
are been targeted. It is likely that retailing will play a more significant
role in the diamond industry in future. The cracks, which have appeared in the
diamond cartel, can only increase. De Beers have taken the lead in attempting
to brand a diamonds. There is no doubt that in coming years more attention will
be paid to marketing and branding. The value of diamonds more than double between
the polishing room and the consumer.
(www.afdiamonds.com/_diamondMining/history.shtml)

1990
...in January [1990]...the CAR hosted a conference of human rights in the rural
milieu. The meeting was organised jointly by the government and the Comité
International pour le Respect et l'Application des Droits de l'Homme (Cirac).
It was also attended by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(Unesco), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the African Human Rights Commission
(AHRC) and several non-governmental organisations. (EIU Country Report, "Central
African Republic," 2nd Quarter 1990, p. 25)

AFRICAN PROGRAMME FOR ONCHOCERCIASIS CONTROL (APOC)www.apoc.bf
Note: the C.A.R. is a APOC member state;
Executing Agency: World Health Organization; Fiscal Agency: World Bank

River Blindness is the common name for Onchocerciasis, a devastating
disease found predominantly in Africa but also occuring in Central America and
small pockets of the Middle East. In 1974, international community efforts to
join forces in a concerted effort to tackle onchocerciasis resulted in the establishment
of the Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa (OCP). The programme’s
objectives were to eliminate the disease and thereby improve socioeconomic conditions
for the millions of people living in the 11 nations covered by OCP activities,
and leave the countries concerned in a position to ensure that the disease never
returned to threaten their populations. Programme OCP closed its activities
on 31 December 2002. APOC was formed in December 1995 with the sole aim of eliminating
onchocerciasis from African countries where the disease remained endemic. Building
on the success of the OCP and extending into 19 nations which were not previously
covered. Unfortunately, in these countries, environmental conditions are such
that widespread aerial spraying of breeding sites of the vector flies is not
a viable option. Instead, control is accomplished through the targeted distribution
of ivermectin tablets to all affected communities. ("African Programme
for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC)," 25 October 2005, www.apoc.bf/en/index.htm)

AFRICAN UNION

Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP) Date: 29 Dec 2005
Central Africa Republic seeks AU military support to fight rampaging bandits
ADDIS ABABA, Dec 29 (AFP) - Beset by bands of marauding bandits and rebel groups
from nearly all of its neighbors, the impoverished Central African Republic
(CAR) on Thursday asked the African Union for military assistance to help it
combat lawlessness and instability. In an appeal to the AU Peace and Security
Council, CAR Foreign Minister Laurent Ngoh Baba requested an unspecified amount
of military hardware, including helicopters, other transport, communications
equipment and logistical supplies, from the pan-African body.
"We have been fighting alone for the past 10 years and we need material
support for our army from the African Union and the member states individually
so that we can fight the bandits who are attacking our transport system and
our social fabric by coming out of the bush from neighboring countries,"
he said.
Speaking to reporters after the council met at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa
to consider the security situation in the CAR, Baba stressed that Bangui was
not accusing its neighbors of supporting the criminals but simply needed their
support in battling the scourge. But he did not detail Bangui's exact needs
or offer a timetable for when he hoped the potential military support would
be provided. The council was expected to issue a statement concerning the CAR
request later Thursday or Friday, AU officials said. Baba did, however, say
that existing efforts to rein in bandits, particularly in the north of the country
where a 380-strong central African regional force is attempting to stabilize
the security situation, had to be supplemented. Fear of the marauders there
-- where they strike nearly every day holding up travellers, stealing livestock,
and kidnapping children -- has driven some 15,000 inhabitants of the remote
region into neighboring Chad, disrupting crop production and raising the risk
of a food shortage.
The problem has become especially acute since elections in the spring returned
President Francois Bozize to power and security, which had been tight for the
polls, was reduced.
abf/mvl/afm AFP. Copyright (c) 2005 Agence France-Presse. Received by NewsEdge
Insight: 12/29/2005 10:23:32

Cf. "Central African Republic - Polygamy Abolished. Polygamy
has been abolished in the Central African Republic as a result of measures taken
by the Revolutionary Council on January 10th [1966]." Afrique Nouvelle,
20 November 1996, cited in Africa Research Bulletin, January 1-31, 1966, p.
456.

AFROL NEWSwww.afrol.com/articles/16874
afrol News 14 January - A new report exposes that the Central African may be
a regional hub in the trade of illicit conflict diamonds from neighbouring Congo
Kinshasa. Belgian imports declared as originating in the Central African Republic
had surpassed the country's official exports by a factor of three over the past
few years.
- At first glance, the Central African Republic presents a seemingly straightforward
case study in diamonds, a new report by Partnership Africa-Canada notes. Despite
numerous coup attempts since 1996, the country has not been considered a producer
of conflict diamonds like Congo Kinshasa (DRC) and Angola. The country's total
diamond production, estimated at about US$ 100 million per annum, is derived
from a handful of towns along two veins of alluvial diamond deposits in eastern
and western portions of the country. "The sheer volume of diamonds produced
in Congo and Angola has overshadowed the importance of the Central African Republic's
much smaller diamond economy," the report says.
Christian Dietrich, the author of the 8-pages analysis, during his visit in
the country however uncovered statistical anomalies, suggesting the Central
African Republic is being used to smuggle diamonds from rebel-held areas the
Congo. Compared to the anarchy of the Congo's diamond economy, the Central African
Republic is relatively well-regulated and transparent, the report says. "The
government commands an impressive array of statistics concerning diamond production
and trading."
- Beneath this first level of scrutiny, however, a more detailed examination
of the Central African Republic reveals a less optimistic picture, Mr Dietrich
notes. The country's physical proximity to rebel territory in the Congo suggested
that Bangui could serve as a conduit for conflict diamonds. Bangui, Bujumbura,
Kampala and Kigali were "the most obvious routes for the exit of diamonds
mined in rebel zones in eastern and northern Congo."
Although the Central African Republic has not intervened militarily in the Congolese
war, Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba dispatched troops to Bangui during
a coup attempt there in 2001. Mr Bemba intervened on behalf of the Central African
government "because he could not tolerate a hostile regime in Bangui, Mr
Dietrich notes. Bangui is separated from Mr Bemba's territory only by the width
of the Ubangui River. Naturally, Mr Bemba was relying "heavily on the supply
of commodities and materiel either through Kampala or Bangui, the latter being
a much cheaper alternative for goods such as petrol."
Rebel leader Bemba has been able to finance his war against the Congolese government
by controlling the sale of between one and three million dollars worth of diamonds
a month. Mr Bemba signed a peace deal with the Kabila government in April 2002
but then refused to assume his position as interim Prime Minister in Kinshasa.
The diamond wealth controlled by Mr Bemba's Mouvement de libération du
Congo (MLC) has contributed to his ability to keep fighting. The exact routes
for commercialising these diamonds remain a mystery for the most part. Rumours
persist that Mr Bemba sends his diamonds through South Africa directly, but
there is more evidence that they pass initially through the Congo's neighbours
before entering the international market. Bangui was noted as an obvious destination.
- Approximately US$ 50-60 million worth of diamonds mined in rebel territory
in eastern and northern Congo 'disappear' into the global rough diamond pipeline
every year, the report says.
Mr Dietrich holds it "possible that the Central African Republic is being
used for laundering diamonds derived from Congolese rebels, or that Bangui is
used as a primary transit zone." Belgian imports had declared as originating
in the Central African Republic have surpassed the country's official exports
by a factor of three over the past few years, with the exception of 2001 when
they were only double official exports, the report found.
According to the report, there were two possible scenarios, or a mixture of
them, that may explain the use of the Central African Republic for the laundering
or transit of conflict diamonds, and the significant variation between Central
African Republic's exports and Belgian imports. First, foreign companies not
active in the Central African Republic could fraudulently declare the country
as the provenance of their diamonds. Second, Central African diamond dealers
could be involved in smuggling of illicit diamonds, which would be declared
in Belgium with a Central African provenance.
- In each case there is fraud, tax evasion and possibly United Nations sanctions
busting, the Canadian report establishes. The Central African Minister of Mines
however rejects the possibility that Congolese diamonds are laundered through
official circuits in the Central African Republic, basing his assumption on
the difference between the average quality of Central African and Congolese
diamonds.
Mr Dietrich concludes that, while there is no documented evidence that Central
African dealers currently purchase conflict diamonds from the Congo, "anecdotal
evidence suggests that this is a very real possibility." Such diamonds
likely would however not be laundered through the Central African Republic's
official exports, so as to evade government tax.
- It is more probable that they would be smuggled into and then out of Bangui,
and only then declared in Belgium, Mr Dietrich says. "This problem may
not seem to be the responsibility of the Central African government, but the
use of Bangui as a transit point for conflict diamonds has severe repercussions
for the country's diamond trade."
- If the government of the Central African Republic ignores good evidence that
certain companies are dealing with rebel groups in the Congo, then it will be
seen to be complicit in this trade, he warns. "Diamond dealers, whether
licensed or not, using Bangui to deal with Congolese rebel groups will taint
the Central African Republic's legitimate diamond economy."

He [Charles Massi] was replaced in the Ministry of Mines by
Joseph Agbo, who was also forced to resign after being accused of obstructing
government legal proceedings against diamond exporters who had been accused
of failing to pay sufficient tax. The pressure on Agbo had come from the CAR
Prime Minister Michel Gbezera-Bria who had made public assertions of corruption
in the diamond trade and who had gained donor confidence, as the EIU put it,
"in his efforts to weaken the patronage links developed by Mr. Patassé
in the public sector over recent years.

AGENCE DE COOPÉRATION CULTURELLE ET TECHNIQUE
(A.C.C.T.)
Agence de coopération culturelle et technique, (A.C.C.T.), Paris
In 1959, the [French] government set up the Agency for Cultural and Technical
Cooperation (Agence de Co-opération Culturelle et Technique, ACCT) to
channel aid from wealther Francophone countries - primarily France, but also
Canada and Belgium - to developing ones. The ACCT has provided funds and materials
for education to countries where French is an official or a widely used language.
(Aldrich, Greater France, p. 322).http://www.francophonie.org/oif/historique.cfm

Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP) Date: 29 Dec 2005
Central Africa Republic seeks AU military support to fight rampaging bandits
ADDIS ABABA, Dec 29 (AFP) - Beset by bands of marauding bandits and rebel groups
from nearly all of its neighbors, the impoverished Central African Republic
(CAR) on Thursday asked the African Union for military assistance to help it
combat lawlessness and instability. In an appeal to the AU Peace and Security
Council, CAR Foreign Minister Laurent Ngoh Baba requested an unspecified amount
of military hardware, including helicopters, other transport, communications
equipment and logistical supplies, from the pan-African body.
"We have been fighting alone for the past 10 years and we need material
support for our army from the African Union and the member states individually
so that we can fight the bandits who are attacking our transport system and
our social fabric by coming out of the bush from neighboring countries,"
he said.
Speaking to reporters after the council met at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa
to consider the security situation in the CAR, Baba stressed that Bangui was
not accusing its neighbors of supporting the criminals but simply needed their
support in battling the scourge. But he did not detail Bangui's exact needs
or offer a timetable for when he hoped the potential military support would
be provided. The council was expected to issue a statement concerning the CAR
request later Thursday or Friday, AU officials said. Baba did, however, say
that existing efforts to rein in bandits, particularly in the north of the country
where a 380-strong central African regional force is attempting to stabilize
the security situation, had to be supplemented. Fear of the marauders there
-- where they strike nearly every day holding up travellers, stealing livestock,
and kidnapping children -- has driven some 15,000 inhabitants of the remote
region into neighboring Chad, disrupting crop production and raising the risk
of a food shortage.
The problem has become especially acute since elections in the spring returned
President Francois Bozize to power and security, which had been tight for the
polls, was reduced.
abf/mvl/afm AFP. Copyright (c) 2005 Agence France-Presse. Received by NewsEdge
Insight: 12/29/2005 10:23:32

In 1972, in order to improve the strained relations between
the countries, French Finance Minister Giscard d'Estaing flew to Bangui for
meeting with Bokassa. The most successful outcome of the visit was a new tree-way
agreement to exploit the uranium which Bokassa wanted revenues from. Although
the French were still interested in guarding their option for participation
in the uranium venture, Bokassa signed an agreement with Agricola Metals Corporation,
a US firm which was to begin exploitation of the uranium as soon as possible.
This firm also had the intension of prospecting in the north-eastern sector
of the CAR where they hoped to find diamonds because of the similarity of the
terrain to current diamond-producing areas in the CAR (ACR 1973: B516).

AGRICULTURE Cf. AGRO-INDUSTRY, FOOD CROPS, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

The Ngandu [Bantu people who live in the Lobaye region] moved
into the area only 120 years ago... the Aka [pygmies] depend heavily on Ngandu
for manioc and other village goods... The Ngandu...[grow] manioc, plaintain,
yams, taro, maize, cucumbers, squash, okra, mango, pineapples, palm oil, and
rice. The domesticated crops provide the majority of calories to their diet
during the year. They also keep chickens, muskovy ducks, goats, sheep, and dogs.
Men hunt occasionally with crossbows, steel-wire snares, and guns for monkeys,
a variety of small duikers, wild pigs, bongos and other animals. All Ngandu
grow at least some coffee as a cash crop. Ngandu men occasionally hunt, but
they receive the majority of their meat through trade with Aka. The Aka provide
the Ngandu with game meat, honey, koko [leaves], and other forest products,
and the Ngandu provide the Aka with manioc and other village products. There
are a government-sponsored school, dispensary, and police station in the village.
(Hewlett, Intimate Fathers, p. 43-44).

1987
Seed cotton output in 1987 is thought to have fallen by as much as one third
from its level of 35,000 tons in 1986... the area under cultivation was scheduled
to be reduced from 83,105 ha in 1985/86 to 60,000 ha in 1986/87 after pressure
from IMF on the industry parastatal, Société Centrafricaine de
Développement Africole (Socada). Coffee production appears to have recovered
from 11,400 tons in 1986 to 15,000 tons in 1987. This partly reflects the end
of the three year recovery cycle after the serious drought in 1983. With the
support of the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the EC and France since
1986, the government is promoting coffee growing among smallholders rather than
the traditional plantations. Tobacco output was probably unchanged in 1987 but
the industry continues to suffer from the poor quality of the crop. Attempts
at diversifying the agricultural sector have not yet contributed to overall
performance. Major new oil palm plantations have not yet reached production
stage while the decline of the Saudi riyal (as a result of its connection with
the dollar) has caused delays in the Ouaka sugar complex. (EIU Country Report,
"Central African Republic," 1st Quarter 1988, p. 21)

AGRO-INDUSTRY cf. AGRICULTURE, MOROCCO

The [CAR-Moroccan] commission communiqué also announced
that a Moroccan, Hassan Regragui, would leave within days to begin setting up
the planned joint venture bank in Bangui. This follows the agreement signed
in February [1989] and the bank will be known as the Banque Populaire Maroco-Centraricaine.
The two countries plan to cooperate more in encouraging small business, agro-industry
and mining activities, and these may well be areas in which the news institution
[bank] takes a particular interest... [Morocco's] main contribution could well
come in diversification of agriculture. The kingdom is already a leading horticultural
producer. The production of luxury fruit and vegetables is becoming an important
export earner for several sub-Saharan states such as Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia,
and Morocco recently helped Congo [Brazzaville?] establish a market garden project.
(EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic," 2nd Quarter 1990,
p. 26)

1982
AID INCREASED DUE TO BARGAINING DURING A CRISIS
Relations with France got off to a bad start [after Kolingba's coup] in 1981
when a French Minister described the military takeover as a 'sign of failure'.
However, the situation was improved by a visit to Bangui in February 1982 by
Mitterand's African advisor, Guy Penne, who extended an invitation to Kolingba
to make an official visit to France. This was immediately followed by the crisis
produced by Patassé's taking refuge in the French embassy in Bangui after
the failure of a coup attempt. The CAR authorities immediately drew the inference
of French involvement in the plot - particularly when France, citing humanitarian
and ethical motives, refused to hand Patassé over to justice. This was
extremely upsetting to the Kolingba regime, which saw Patassé as a serious
threat. (ACR, 1983, B353)
Penne was sent back to the CAR to solve the crisis. The French embassy was surrounded
by CAR troops, and a 48-hour ultimatum was delivered for Patassé to be
handed over. The French did not reply with the request although, according to
international law, embassies are 'inviolable' but not 'extra-territorial', and
cannot provide sanctuary for international criminals. The climb-down of the
CAR was of course tied to the fact that France not only has 1,200 troops in
the country but also provides aid amounting to two-thirds of Budget revenues,
making up the deficit and paying for civil servants' salaries. The decision
to allow Patassé to be sent into exile was believed to be linked to a
promise of increased aid (ACR, 1983, B353)

2005
"CAR gets multimillion euro French aid." PanaPress, 1 July 2005. www.panapress.com/paysindexlat.asp
France plans to grant an additional four million euro in financial aid to the
Central African Republic whose President François Bozize Monday began
a weeklong working visit to Paris, official sources said here. (www.panapress.com/paysindexlat.asp)

Many people believe that Aids is spread most rapidly in towns,
where varied social contacts are freer. In the CAR [in 1990] 37 per cent of
the 2.77 mn inhabitants live in urban areas. Although the degree of urbanisation
is rather lower than in neighbouring states, Aids is still spreading at a rapid
pace. Some 662 cases of the disease were identified in 1984-88, but 142 new
cases were reported in the first quarter of 1989. At this pace, Aids is sure
to impose an enormous strain on the already limited health services. The country
has only 2,200 hospital beds, and about 138 practicing doctors and 25 pharmacists.
(EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic," 1st Quarter 1990,
p. 25)

Danielle Mitterrand, wife of the French president [Mitterrand],
visited the CAR in her capacity as head of the France Libertés foundation
in November [1989]. She launched an information campaign to warn school children
of the dangers of Aids [HIV-infection]. The disease represents probably the
fastest growing threat to health in tropical Africa... The dangers of the disease
are being publicised through broadcasts and the distribution of 100,000 school
notebooks and pens, prepared by France Libertés, and printed with warnings
and advice. (EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic," 1st Quarter
1990, p. 25)

"Statement by M. Ruhul Amin, Counsellor Permanent Mission
of Bangladesh to the United Nations at the Security Council on the situation
in the Central African Republic
New York, 21 September 2001." www.un.int/bangladesh/images/sc/st/210901car.htm

We are encouraged to note from the World Bank representative
that some $17 million have been allocated for HIV/AIDS. That responds to a very
urgent need....( "Statement by M. Ruhul Amin, Counsellor Permanent Mission
of Bangladesh to the United Nations at the Security Council on the situation
in the Central African Republic, New York, 21 September 2001." www.un.int/bangladesh/images/sc/st/210901car.htm

The Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and Japanese
NGO Amis d'Afrique (Friends of Africa) signed a letter of agreement on Wednesday
for a US $630,000 grant in support of reinforcing HIV/AIDS responses in communities
in the CAR, the World Bank announced from Bangui. The grant will finance activities
in the fight against HIV/AIDS in local communities by reinforcing a number of
ongoing interventions undertaken by Amis d'Afrique. The grant, has four components:
medical care and treatment; home-based care and family support; information,
education and communication and prevention in schools and youth centers; and
capacity-building with evaluation and monitoring. "The grant supports an
innovative approach of contracting NGOs and other community groups in the delivery
of HIV/AIDS interventions in the CAR," the World Bank reported. "Amis
d'Afrique, the grant implementing agency, established in 1993 to assist in the
fight against HIV/AIDS, has been building capacity at the local level,"
it continued. "In addition, the agency will contract other NGOs to deliver
information, education and communication programmes in the schools or to train
traditional healers in HIV/AIDS care and support in order to reach a wider segment
of the country." The World Bank Vice-President for the Africa Region, Callisto
Madavo, said the grant "provides an opportunity for meaningful partnership
among the government, the World Bank, Amis d'Afrique and the civil society in
the common goal of mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on the economy and curbing
the epidemic in the country". Director-General and President of Amis d'Afrique
Mizuko Tokunaga said he was "grateful that our activity can be expanded
by working together with the World Bank project" in light of the increasing
number of HIV/AIDS patients. The World Bank estimates that annual per capita
growth in half the countries of sub-Saharan Africa is falling by 0.5 percent
to 1.2 percent as a direct result of AIDS and that by 2010, per capita GDP in
some of the hardest hit countries may drop by as much as 8 percent. Annual basic
care and treatment for a person with AIDS (without antiretroviral drugs) can
cost as much as two to three times per capita GDP in the poorest countries.
Today, 36 million people live with HIV/AIDS, more than 95 percent of them in
developing countries. Over 21 million people have so far died, three million
of them in 2000 alone. AIDS is now the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan
Africa. ("Japan provides US $630,000 to fight HIV/AIDS," IRIN, Nairobi,
2 Nov 2001.)

In 1989 the [CAR had a 300 man] Air Force... [that] lacks
combat aircraft or armed helicopters. It [had] two C47, two Cessna 337, and
one DC4; for liaison it has eight Al-60 and six MH-1521; and one AS-350 helicopter
and one SE-3130 helicopter. (Webb, "Central African Republic," ACR
1989-1990, p. B172).
...the C-47 or "Gooney Bird" as it was affectionately nicknamed...
was adapted from the DC-3 commercial airliner which appeared in 1936. The first
C-47s were ordered in 1940 and by the end of WW II, 9,348 had been procured
for AAF use. They carried personnel and cargo, and in a combat role, towed troop-carrying
gliders and dropped paratroops into enemy territory. After WW II, many C-47s
remained in USAF service, participating in the Berlin Airlift and other peacetime
activities. During the Korean Conflict, C-47s hauled supplies, dropped paratroops,
evacuated wounded and dropped flares for night bombing attacks. In Vietnam,
the C-47 served again as a transport, but it was also used in a variety of other
ways which included flying ground attack (gunship), reconnaissance, and psychological
warfare missions. The C-47D on display, the last C-47 in routine USAF use, was
flown to the Museum in 1975. (www.nhpeas.ang.af.mil/History/c47.htm)
- C-47 SKYTRAIN
- Cessna 337 Skymaster
The Cessna 337 Skymaster offers an alternative to airships and helicopters for
sports event coverage. The 337 can maintain aloft for an entire event while
a helicopter has to land to refuel. Capable of faster airspeeds the aircraft
can reposition faster than a blimp preventing the possiblility of missing an
important piece of action from a certain vantage point.
- MAX HOLSTE MH 1521
A rugged STOL transport aircraft, the Max Holste MH1521 Broussard survives in
military service only with the Chad [and the Central African Republic's?] Air
Force, France having retired its examples. (www.utility-aircraft.com/planes/max-holste.htm)
- Ecureuil AS350 helicopter www.aircraft-charter-world.com/helicopters/as350.htm

Hewlitt, Barry Steven, J.M.H. van de Koppel and M. van de Koppel. "Causes
of Death among Aka Pygmies of the Central African Republic." Pre-publication
manuscript.

Aka health
Relatively few Aka terms and associated symptoms could not be translated into
the Western medical model. These include: 1) ekundi, where a child or mother
dies because the mother committed adultery while she was pregnant; 2) gbe, where
a child dies because a parent ate a specific taboo rat (Cricetomys emini); 3)
dikundi or balimba, a person dies from witchcraft or sorcery; 4) himbi, a child
dies because a his/her mother had intercourse before the child could walk well;
and 5) zele gora, because a woman dies because she marries while still in mourning
for her previous husband; and, 6) kongo or kole, "illness of the rainbow",
where an individual dies after walking on a mushroom in a damp spot in the forest
where a snake, which has colors of the rainbow, has rested, and the dangerous
mushroom has emerged. In this last case the individual experiences paralysis
of legs and sometimes arms, and occasionally develops boils over the body. (Barry
Hewlitt, J.M.H. van de Koppel and M. van de Koppel, "Causes of Death among
Aka Pygmies of the Central African Republic.")

The Bofi-Aka are more acculturated than the other two groups
of Aka - they maintain their camp in the village year-round and prefer to speak
the Bofi language of the villagers, instead of the Aka language. Their high
incidence of respiratory problems may be a result of their heavy smoking. All
Aka like to smoke tobacco, but Bofi-Aka, both men and women, smoke more frequently.
Villagers pay them with tobacco, they trade food items for tobacco, [they] have
tobacco plots of their own, can frequently be seen walking around the village
smoking a pipe, and they do not share the cigarette or pipe with others, like
the Aka. There seems to be [a] cultural focus on tobacco use even more so than
for villagers... Another phenomen[on] apparently accompanying Bofi-Aka acculturation
is the incidence of sumbi, "going crazy" or insanity. Not a single
individual from the other two groups mentioned a death occuring from sumbi,
or anything even similar, while five Bofi-Aka were said to have died from it.
(Barry Hewlitt, J.M.H. van de Koppel and M. van de Koppel, "Causes of Death
among Aka Pygmies of the Central African Republic.")

Variation exists (between the three groups) in the incidence
of death by witchcraft, from zero from the Boki-Aka, where one might expect
a high percentage of deaths from witchcraft due to contact with villagers, to
5% among Bagandou Aka, and 15% among Ndele Aka. No specific factor is evident
to explain this variation. Regional preferences and adaptations, the small number
of Bofi-Aka interviewed, and the influence of villagers of different ethnic
affiliations with distinctive cultural systems are all possible factors that
could influence this variation. (Barry Hewlitt, J.M.H. van de Koppel and M.
van de Koppel, "Causes of Death among Aka Pygmies of the Central African
Republic.")

Deaths attributed to supernatural causes - i.e. witchcraft
- also provide data about Aka culture. Aka do not have witches or sorcerers.
The only individual in Aka culture who has magical abilities in the nganga,
or healer. The nganga, depending on his level of expertise, also can "see"
game while on the hunt, predict future events, and cures the ill. Witches and
sorcerers are found in the village.

Travel done as a consequence of working for villagers represents
an important reason for N'Dele Aka movement... 1) helping entrepreneurs transport
meat they have traded from Aka to large town markets; 2) carrying the numerous
bags of local villagers when they visit the large towns and cities; 3) traveling
to the large coffee plantations to work for Europeans or villagers; and 4) traveling
to places for various other sorts of work, such as working as an Arab's (Fulbe
or Tchadian) servant or working for a lumber company locating mahogany trees.
Work related travel is usually to commercial centers... (Barry Hewlett, J.M.H.
van de Koppel and L.L. Cavalli-Sforza, "Exploration ranges of Aka Pygmies
of the Central African Republic")

1989
The [CAR's] decision to restore official relations in January [1989] was in
line with a slow but definite trend among francophone African states, but it
is difficult to see why the Kolingba government has decided to give the new
relationship such a high profile, since the amount of aid that Tel Aviv, itself
hard pressed financially, can offer is limited. The invitation to Mr Shamir,
a much more controversial figure than the previous prime minister, Mr Peres,
to visit Bangui may have been intended as a deliberate signal to the new military
government in Sudan. President Kolingba, who has seen violence from the Sudanese
civil war spill over into his own country and who broke off diplomatic relations
with Sudan in May [1989], may have been warning Khartoum to stay firmly out
of Central African affairs. Indeed a statement by Brigadier Tijani Adam al-Tahir,
a member of Sudan's ruling council and political advisor for the lawless western
province of Darfur, in last September suggested that relations with the CAR
had been re-established, although there has been no confirmation from Bangui.
(EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic," 4th Quarter 1989,
p. 22)

1991
The drink sector is divided between two breweries, which are in active competition...
the oldest, Mocaf, in place since 1951, is a 100% subsidiary (filiale) of Interbrew
since 1990. It employs 260 salaried workers, which is 60% less than when it
operated alone (without competition) in the Central African market. The second
[brewery]...SCB, a subsidiary of the Castel group, entered the market in 1983
after having started in the CAR by selling wine. It employs 100 persons. In
a restricted market of... 330,000 to 350,000 hectoliters (hl) a year, when one
company does particularly well, the other suffers a bit. At present [1991] they
just about divide the market, with a total sales (chiffre d'affaires) of about
9 billion (milliard, a thousand million) CFA a year. (Gilguy, "Centrafrique,"
p. 3080).

There were some minor innovations in agriculture... rice only became popular
in Ubangi-Shari after Africans learned to ferment a strong liquor from it. (Headrick,
Colonialism, Health and Illness, p. 186)

ALDEN
Almquist Alden studied the Apagibeti of north central Congo-Kinshasa who speak
a Bantu language but whose culture is similar to that of their Ngbandi neighbors
to the north, and whose clans are believed to have descended from common Ngbandi
ancestors

The Apagibeti...Lying along the line separating what used
to be termed Bantu from Sudanic language groups, the Apagibeti are speakers
of a Libuale dialect and belong linguistically to the Bantu group but culturally
to the Sudanic [Ubangian in this case]. Patrilocal and virilocal, all Monveda
Apagibeti belong to one of two founder clans, brothers descended from the mythic
Kulegenge, common ancestor both to them and to their northern "Sudanic"
[Ubangian] neighbors, the Ngbandi. Local authority in the chiefless, precolonial
era was vested in the some, the oldest male of the senior lineage in each village.
He heard disputes and mediated between the village and the ancestors at the
ancestral spirit shrine. (Alden, "Divination and the Hunt in Pagibeti Ideology,"
p. 102).

A number of persons are particularly dangerous to hunting,
gardening, health, and reproductive success. Among them are twins, witches,
mangodo (persons whose top teeth erupted before the lower teeth), yingo (forest
spirits) [cf. Sango (y)ingo], and sorcerers. Sorcerers are the most feared,
as virtually all villagers have private stores of medicines, bebode, whose use
may be for good or for ill. As is frequently said, "Nto na nto na eboke
te ngake" ("To each man, his own medicine"...). Medicines from
neighboring villages, ethnic groups, and dispensaries are sought out by traveling
villagers and brought back to the village. They are individually owned by the
person who brought them and may be exercised for the benefit of others, often
for a fee. One may know the medicine for healing broken bones, another for relieving
neck stiffness, another for makings infants walk, another for curing spirit
possession, another for an enemy sickness, and another for seizing thieves of
garden crops or of domestic or trapped forest aimals. Specific medicines for
good fortune in hunting monkey, elephant, and buffalo are found among local
villages or among neighboring Bale, Bua, and Ngbandi ethnic groups, respectively.
(Alden, "Divination and the Hunt in Pagibeti Ideology," p. 103).

Ownership of such power can be dangerous to its possessors.
The greatly feared pomoli, for example, guarantees spectacular success in killing
forest game to the individual hunter who employs it for private gain; but, in
exchange, members of the hunter's lineage will, one by one, die the slow wasting
death of the trapped animals themselves for as long as the medicine is employed.
In view of its prevalence and ambivalent valence, bebode ("medicines")
is a favorite one-word explanatory tool used to account for the unusual power
of a chief, a witch, or a highly successful curer or hunter. (Alden, "Divination
and the Hunt in Pagibeti Ideology," p. 103).

ALDRICH

Aldrich, Robert and John Connell, eds. France in World Politics. London &
New York: Routledge, 1989.

Aldrich, Robert. Greater France: A History of French Overseas Expansion. New
York: Palgrave, 1996.

Cf. "French Equatorial Africa (AEF)" and subsection Oubangui-Chari

North of the French and Belgian Congo was Oubangui-Chari. Various
explorers, including Brazza, trekked across the region in the decade after 1889,
when the French founded an outpost at Bangui. A treaty between the Congo Free
State and France recognized French sovereignty over the territory north of the
Oubangui River in 1894, although the delimitation of the frontier between Oubangui-Chari,
Chad and German Cameroon altered on several occasions. Oubangui-Chari remained
one of France's poorest and least-known colonies except for scandals surrounding
the imposition of a head-tax, the murderous use of Africans as porters for caravans
between navigable rivers, and the activities of concessionary companies. The
Oubangui-Chari had almost no economic or strategic significance, and no other
colonial power challenged France's claim. (Aldrich, Greater France, p. 55).

The push toward Lake Chad was a pet project of several French
bodies, including the Paris Geographical Society, the Marseille Chamber of Commerce
and the Committee for French Africa, which outfitted expeditions to do the deed.
Their brief, in addition, was to conquer new territory, secure an opening into
central Africa, open trade links and - perhaps more importantly - forestall
expansion by Britain, represented on the fringers of the region by missionaries.
Expedition succeeded expedition, hobbled by harsh terrain, African hostility,
and occasional murder of leadders and lack of porters. The French finally reach
Lake Chad in 1897; they raised the flag but did little else. Two years later,
another expedition arrived; this time, according to the Committee for French
Africa, "the goal was to initiate serious commercial transactions, to establish
permanent trading posts, to organize regular trading caravans, to extend our
influence by essentially peaceful means through international treaties. Indeed
in 1899, after the Fashoda affair, Paris and London signed a convention delimiting
the frontiers between their claims.
(Aldrich, Greater France, p. 56).

The Chad expedition took on heroic colours. Both the French
commander François Lamy and the African rulers Rabah were killed in action...
After the applause died, authorities had little idea of what to do with the
newly conquered territories. [Commander] Gentil admitted that Chad was so arid
that find drinking water was difficult. He confessed: "I said to myself,
when I was alone, that it truly was not worth having killed so many and having
suffered so much to conquer such a forsaken country." The military territory
of Chad played home to only 20 Europeans at the turn of the twentieth century.
Mostly non-commis-sioned officers, their responsibility was to administer a
territory which measured almost 1000 km from north to south and 400 km from
east to west. Forced labour and various taxes imposed on the population produced
revenues equal to half the cost of administration. A single French businessman
who trade in ivory and rubber, represented French commerce. The capital, Fort-Lamy,
was but a military outpost with a few artisans and a company of French African
soldiers. Supplies ran short; hardship was evident. The African suffered the
burden of French occupation. A French commander posted to Fort-Lamy complained:
"At what price of what hesitations, what sacrifices of money, and, alas,
of what atrocious suffering, have we guaranteed supplied for this military territory?
The population, decimated by work far beyond its strength, prefers death to
porterage... How many corpses line the route from the Possel fortress to Fort-Crampel,
and yet projects for a roadway and a rail are under study and said to be indispensable
for the future of the colony!" Promoters in Paris called for greater efforts,
but in the early twentieth century, dissenting voices, not all anti-colonialist,
called for the outright abandonment of a colony which seemed to lack even potential.
(Aldrich, Greater France, p. 56-57, citing Pierre Gentil, La Conquête
du Tchad (1894-1916). Paris, 2 vols. 1970).

French occupation of equatorial Africa began in Gabon, where
in 1839 Captain Bouët-Willaumez signed a treaty with a local chief, whom
the French called King Denis. He ceded land along one bank of the Gabon estuary
for French port facilities and a trading station; another treaty in 1841 gave
France an outpost on the opposite bank. In 1849, France founded Libreville as
a settlement for freed slaves, and thereafter enlarged its holdings along the
coast. As explorers moved inland from the 1850s onwards, France gained further
territory. (Aldrich, Greater France, p. 51).

Lambaréné, on the Obooué river, occupied
in 1872, became the launching-pad for expeditions into the interior. These treks,
which laid the French claims to much of what became the AEF, were largely the
work of Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, most famous of the French explorers. Brazza
was born in Rome in 1852, the son of a count who worked as a museum curator.
A childhood meeting with the Marquis de Montaignac, a French admiral, whetted
Brazza's appetite for both France and exploration. In 1868, he enrolled at the
French Naval Academy and six years later was naturalized as a French citizen.
By that time, Brazza had completed his first voyages to the South Atlantic,
Algeria (where he witnessed the 1871 Kabyle uprising) and West Africa. (Aldrich,
Greater France, p. 51).

In 1875, Brazza undertook his first expedition up the Ogooué
river, a two-year journey commissioned by Montaignac, now Minister of the Navy.
The major discovery was that the Ogooué was not, as had been believed,
a branch of the Congo. On his second expedition, from 1879 to 1882, Brazza obtained
a treaty from the chief of the Batéké peoples, Iléo (also
known by the title of Makoko), which granted France the territory which formed
the bulk of the Moyen-Congo colony. Brazza founded Franceville and the city
that came to bear his name, Brazzaville. A third expedition followed from 1883
to 1885. (Aldrich, Greater France, p. 51).

The explorer wrote enthusiastically about the wealth of the
Congo. The 'great fertility' of the land "only demands a little effort''
to develop it; Africans, he thought, were the only labour force which could
do so in harsh tropical conditions. It would be possible to grow coffee, cocoa
and sugar cane, produce palm oil and dyestuffs, collect rubber, fell sandalwood
and ebony trees and buy ivory. A network of trading posts stretching from the
coast inland could provide a conduit for such commodities to be exported from
the African interior to Europe. (Aldrich, Greater France, p. 53, citing Elizabeth
Rabut, Brazza Commissaire-Général: le Congo français, 1886-1897.
Paris: 1989).

Brazza's expeditions coincided with intense imperial rivalry
over central Africa, marked by the entry of an aspiring colonial power into
the 'scramble'. King Léopold II of Belgium cherished hopes of increasing
the power and prestige of his small country through imperial aggrandisement.
Efforts to expand in various parts of the world met with little initial success;
the British opposed a Belgian settlement in the Transvaal, in southern Africa,
and the Spanish declined Léopold's offer to buy the Philippines. The
Belgian monarch saw greater prospects in central Africa, and in 1876 formed
an organization ostensibly to promote exploration and the eradication of slavery,
the International African Association. Although grouping together national committees
with similar objectives - Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal, presided
over a French committee - the association was, in reality, a cover for Léopold's
ambitions. The king also recruited Henry Morton Stanley, an English-born American
journalist famous for his search for another explorer, David Livingstone. Soon
Léopold's association had achieved quasi-official status as a colonising
power in its own right. (Aldrich, Greater France, p. 54).

With the various claims sorted out, the French government in
1886 appointed Brazza Commissioner-General in Equatorial Africa with authority
over the Congo and Gabon, a position he held until 1898. Conflict with French
businessmen led to Brazza's recall, but he returned to the Congo in 1905 as
head of an official investigation into abuses committed by the companies which
had obtained government monopolies on economic activity in the AEF. Having completed
the inquiry, Brazza set out for Paris, only to die - in suspicious circumstances
- in Dakar. All ten copies of his report, probably highly critical of the concession
companies, were 'lost'. (Aldrich, Greater France, p. 55, citing Jean Autin,
"Brazza: Une mort mystérieuse." Mondes et Cultures, 49, 4 (1989):668-74).

CONCESSIONARY COMPANIES
French Equatorial Africa... was a huge and completely undeveloped territory...
The first years after French takeover saw little activity other than episodic
and uregulated trading. By the end of the nineteenth century, the government
decided that the only way to speed development and avoid anarchy was to parcel
out Gabon, the Moyen-Congo and Oubangui-Chari - territories later joined with
Chad to form the AEF - to private companies. In 1899, 40 'concessionary companies'
won control over 700,000 square kilometers (of the 900,000 represented by the
AEF). Concessions ranged from 1200 to 140,000 square kilometers. In return for
a bond, nominal annual rent, 15 per cent of profits and supplementary contributions
to the cost of setting up customs posts and telegraph lines, the companies obtained
a monopoly on ivory and rubber trading and a free hand to exploit their land
for 30 years. After the end of the period, the companies would receive legal
title to lands which they had effectively developed. Promises of final settlement
were particularly generous - a company could hope to get 100 hectares of land,
for instance, for having domesticated a single elephant. (Aldrich, Greater France,
p. 193).
The policy of issuing patents to concessionary companies signified the government's
own inability or unwillingness to create a modern economy for the AEF. The project
also harked back to the charter companies which had developed colonies in the
1600s. Furthermore, the strategy paralleled plans by Britain and Germany to
use private companies in eastern Africa. Major French firms, however, showed
little interest in investing in equatorial Africa and were notably absent among
concessionary companies set up for the AEF. Capital came mostly from colonists
and medium-sized trading companies already involved in the region; foreign capital,
especially from Belgium, was significant. Investors hoped for handsome profits,
especially after the much vaunted Congo-Ocean railway opened. High hopes were
not realized. A decade after the companies were founded, only seven paid dividends
to shareholders. Ten disappeared completely by 1904, and at the end of the 30-year
concession period, only eight remained. Delays in building the railway, the
costs and distances involved in porterage, unhealthy conditions in tropical
forests, difficulties in finding labour, and the international economic climate
stifled development. European traders and entrepreneurs were slow in coming
to the AEA; the European population grew from 800 in 1900 to just over 2000
a decade later. Production of ivory, previously a profitable export, declined
from 210 tons in 1905 to 97 tons 15 years later. Rubber production stagnated
from the turn of the twentieth century until the First World War. The only bright
spot was the production of tropical hardwoods, particularly mahogany, which
rocketed from 2000 tons in 1898 to 150,000 in 1913; commercial forestry was
confined largely to Gabon, which consequently became a more valuable possession
than the Moyen-Congo and Oubangui-Chari. (Aldrich, Greater France, p. 193).
Scandalous treatment of Africans horrified at least some sectors of French opinion.
One of the worst single incidents was the locking up of 45 women in Lobaye [and
then Bangui] in 1905 to force them and their menfolk to work for a concessionary
company; most of the women died. At M'Poko, the murder of at least a thousand
African workers led to indictments of 236 persons; most got off, and the affair
was hushed up. Workers were regularly coerced into labour, and beaten with chains
and whips to ensure their obedience and productivity. (Aldrich, Greater France,
p. 194).
The concessionary regime was manifestly a failure. In the interwar years, journalists
and travelers, such as André Gide, revealed mistreatment of indigenes.
An official report in 1925 stated that the concessionary companies had left
the AEF as poor as they had found it. By the 1930s, ivory reserves were thoroughly
depleted. In some regions of the AEF, supplies or rubber, a prime export, had
been exhausted. The Depression caused a crash in the price and demand for rubber;
in any case, Southeast Asian rubber provided unbeatable competition for African
producers. (Aldrich, Greater France, p. 194).
The economy of the AEF showed limited diversification. The standard of living
for the African population probably declined during the concessionary regime.
The companies' actions in the first years of the system have been characterized
as an 'economy of pillage' marked by human exploitation and environmental depredation.
Only by the late 1920s and 1930s, as concessions expired and government capital
replaced private funds, the logging industry stabilized, and the volume of exports
and imports grew, did the AEF really develop a 'proper' imperialistic economy
capable of expansion and profit-making. (Aldrich, Greater France, p. 195).

Alexander, Doub. "Looking for more friends: having stayed
in the French orbit since independence in 1960, the Central African Republic
now wants to fly the roost, for greener pastures." New African, 1 October,
2002. (Around Africa: CAR).

ALLAFRICA.com (news, etc.)
Note: AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations,
plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting
and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher
are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200508220920.htmlhttp://allafrica.com/centralafricanrepublic
Note: From the publisher of the former Africa News print newsletter.
Cf. "Central African Republic: Red Cross Distributes Non-Food Items to
Bangui
Flood Victims." IRIN, 22 August 2005.

Cf. www.topix.net/world/central-african-republic

Cf. "Central African Republic: Mission to Flood-Affected Areas Planned,
Official Says." AllAfrica.com, 14 Oct 2005.
The government of the Central African Republic may send a mission to flood affected
areas outside the capital, Bangui, to assess the agricultural damage caused
by floods that swept parts of the country...

Five minor partners in the government coalition, including
the Alliance pour la démocratie et le progrès (ADP), pulled out
in early December [1994] (although some of their cabinet members remained) in
protest at Mr Patassé's [constitutional] proposals. They announced they
would campaign for a "No" vote. An ADP spokesman said their principal
concerns were the rule change allowing a president to serve three six-year-terms
(instead of two, as previously) which they fear could be exploited by Mr Patassé
to stay in office until well into the new century. The ADP felt that the presiding
judge and assistant judge of the constitutional court [see below], who would
be the arbiter in any future controvery over interpretation of the constititution
and potentially one of the few constraints on a powerful president, should be
elected by fellow judges and not appointed by the executive. The ADP was also
worried that the new constitution would give the president too much power over
the prime minister, making the head of the government a stooge. Finally, the
ADP resented Mr Patassé's decision to drop the clause stipulating that
the president must be a person of high moral standing. Sceptical observers might
wonder why Mr Patassé felt this necessary. (EIU Country Report, "Central
African Republic," 1st Quarter 1995, p. 22)

ALMANAC OF POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT ONLINE
Almanac of Politics and Government Online - Central African Republic Page http://www.polisci.com/world/nation/CT.htm
Note: Country information, legislature, cabinet, reserve bank, political parties,
local government, U.S. Ambassadors. Online version of the annual print and cd-rom
product.

ALMANACH.be Cf. WEBSITE OF DYNASTIES OUTSIDE OF EUROPEhttp://www.almanach.be/search/c/index.htmwww.almanach.be/signIn/signIn.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fsearch%2fc%2fcentralafricanrepublic.html
Central Africa
* Bangassou: The state of Bangassou, sometimes called Sultanate, was formed
by the Bandia clan of the Azende tribe who were also founders of the States
of Rafai and Zemio, in ...
* Central African Empire: Formerly known as Oubangui Chari, this former French
colony adopted the name of Central African Republic on 1/12/1958 and achieved
full independence on 13/8/1960. On 1/1/1966, Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa ...
* Central African Republic: A settlement of Bantu [sic: incorrect] tribes through
centuries, the French gained control in the late 19th century to the region
then named Oubangui-Chari ...
* Oubangui-Chari
* Rafai: under development
* Zemio: under development
* Ubangi-Shari

ALOUBA

...the very mention of Alouba would launch eloquent descriptions
about the rich elephant meat and fat that Mpiemu once consumed, uninhibited
by contemporary state and conservation-project restrictions. This nostalgia
for a past prosperity, embodied in stories of Alouba and elephant meat, is certainly
not unique to Mpiemu tellers of doli [the past]. Nostalgia for a past prosperity
(real or imaginary) under colonial rule is common elsewhere in Africa. In this
context, this nostalgia speaks to a discourse of lost access to forest resources
and to opportunities echoes that of earlier European commentators, but Mpiemu
reshaped it to express their own concerns about participating in a global economy
that would allow them to accumulate clothing, cooking pots, and other consumer
goods. In this sense, the nostalgic reminiscences positioned tellers of doli
in relation to their pasts and made claims to truth about the dearth of present-day
opportunities to use elephants and other game as people had in the past.

RSM Production Corporation of Denver, Colorado, USA, has been
granted exclusive onshore oil and gas exploration and production license on
November 27, 2000 covering 55,125 square kilometers (13,615,875 acres) in the
northeastern portion of the Central African Republic (CAR) and is presently
undergoing an extensive 2-D geophysical exploration program using state of the
art processing technology and utilizing the geophysical gravity data obtained
by RSM. The license area in the CAR covers parts of the Doba-Doseo-Salamat sub-basins
that straddle the border between CAR and Chad. The Chadian part of the Doba-Doseo
sub-basin immediately across the border from CAR contains three (3) large world-class
oil fields and a number of smaller but commercial oil fields that may develop
into larger fields with additional drilling which is anticipated. Since the
inception of exploratory drilling in Chad through 1986, a total of 29 exploratory
wells were drilled, 10 of which tested positive for hydrocarbons, mostly oil.
Between 1988 and 1996, Exxon, (Esso) focused its efforts on the Doba Basin and
drilled 14 more wells, 11 of which resulted as potential oil discoveries with
a 78.6 % success ratio. Proven presently recoverable reserves for the Doba Basin
are approximately three (3) billion barrels of recoverable oil. (American Association
of Petroleum Geologists, aapg.confex.com/aapg/paris2005/techprogram/A98405.htm)

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Weber, Neal A. Neal Albert, Murl Deusing, James L. James Lippitt
Clark, and American Museum of Natural History. 1947-1948. Central African Expedition.
Central African Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History (1947-1948).
1 videocassette (500 min.): si., col. ; 3/4 in. New York: American Museum of
Natural History.

Abstract: Filmed during AMNH Central African Expedition, 1948.
The film material taken on the AMNH Central African Expedition, 1947-1948, is
unedited, raw footage. The five-month-long expedition, led by James Lippitt
Clark, AMNH director of preparation and installation, is well-documented in
field notes and reports. It is not reflected in the film that the expedition
moved haphazardly back and forth among the countries visited: Kenya, Uganda,
Belgian Congo (now Zaire), and French Equatorial Africa (now Chad, Gabon, Congo,
and the Central African Republic).... A control file in the AMNH Film Archives
correlates this material to shot-by-shot descriptions of the film. The material
was filmed by Murl Deusing, who also worked on the Walt Disney nature films
of the 1950s. Views of the following birds are included: weaverbirds (nest building);
white-backed vultures and Ruppell's vultures (gliding on air currents and feeding);
ostriches (running); rory bustards (feeding); crowned cranes (feeding and long
shot of courtship display); ground hornbills (feeding); flamingoes; hawks; kites;
hammerheads; cattle egrets; pelicans; cormorants; anhingas; white storks (European
birds wintering in Africa); marabou storks (feeding); and geese. Because the
material is poorly organized and unedited, bird footage from other films in
the Archives would better serve the researcher. The footage of mammals includes
several scenes filmed at the Government Elephant Training Center in Cangara
Na Bodia, Belgian Congo (now Zaire), where young elephants are domesticated
and trained: the elephants are corralled, fed and bathed; one juvenile elephant
is laid down with great difficulty and given topical medication. There are also
many scenes of a wide variety of animals grazing in the plains. Other mammals
seen are: hippopotamuses, defassa waterbucks, impalas, Ankole cattle, hyenas,
L'Hoest's monkeys, Thomson's gazelles, wildebeests, zebras, topis (some aggressive
behavior), goats, cape eland, colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, kob, blackbacked
and sidestriped jackals, giraffes, warthogs, Cape buffaloes, bat-eared foxes,
lions, black rhinoceroses, oryx, hartebeests, southern reedbucks, and dikdiks.
The African peoples included in the film [include]... Zande, N'Sakkara, with
some unidentified people in Zaire and some others who apear to be Mangbetu...
[a] section of the film depicts peoples of what is now the Central African Republic
and was then part of French Equatorial Africa. Natives of the village of Birao
use a huge mortar and pestle; also seen are their cone on cylinder houses, some
with animal paintings on the stucco walls, and personal adornment including
beaded hairdresses (close-ups), nose and ear ornaments, cicatrices, and coin
necklaces. Zande people near Zamio process cassava from root to flour (close-ups),
use mortar and pestle; and Zande men weave mats (close-ups) and Zande women
wear leaves and cloth pelvic aprons. N'Sakkara people of Bangassou thatch a
roof, carve a wooden bowl, play bao or a similar board game, strip reeds for
weaving, make a storage basket, play with a hoop, make mats, plaster a house,
use mortar and pestle, grind grain into flour between two stones, make jewelry,
work wood with a lathe, and winnow and grind termites for food. Neal Albert
Weber, the expedition's entomologist, conducted extensive research in the field;
footage of his study of ants and termites comprise a large part of this film.
Weber himself appears in the film sucking up ants and termites with a hose,
collecting others with a funnel, and "cooking" them with his fireless
cooker. There is also footage of various types of ant nests, bivouacs (large
knots of ants clinging to one another), siafu or driver ants (nesting sites,
individuals, close-ups, and long shots of marching columns, and large larva
sacs), termites (with wings and without) and termite queens, termite nests (on
the ground, in thorn trees, opened and unopened gauls or carton nests), stalkeyed
flies, cassava grasshoppers (molting, copulating), a scarab beetle, and close-ups
of a tree snail and of millipedes. A turtle, a python, and a gold and green
frog are also seen. (diglib1.amnh.org/resources/bibliography/bibliographies/mammalia2.htm)

Apart from a small branch of the Amicale des Métis organized
in Gabonais at Bangui and revived sporadically by a few young Oubangien métis
under Antoine Darlan, no other associations were formed until 1937. At that
time Gandji rallied together the young Oubangien civil servants and employees
in an Amicale Oubanguienne, with the purpose of raising the prestige of the
Oubanguiens to override the control of the higher posts by non-Oubanguiens.
(Ballard, “Political Parties,” p. 148 and fn. 46)

AMICALE OUBANGUIENNE

in [circa] 1937... Gandji rallied together the young Oubangien
civil servants and employees in an Amicale Oubanguienne, with the purpose of
raising the prestige of the Oubanguiens to override the control of the higher
posts by non-Oubanguiens. Among the leaders in the Amicale Oubanguienne were
Pierre Indo, Antoine Darlan, Bernard Condomat, Jean-Baptiste Songomali, and
Benoit Mombéto, all of whom were important in political activity after
1945 and all of whom were from riverain tribes. (Ballard, “Political Parties,”
p. 148 and fn. 46)

"Statement by M. Ruhul Amin, Counsellor Permanent Mission
of Bangladesh to the United Nations at the Security Council on the situation
in the Central African Republic, New York, 21 September 2001." www.un.int/bangladesh/images/sc/st/210901car.htm

Thank you very much, Mr. President, for convening this public
meeting on a situation that requires continued Council attention and engagement.
I shall first address issues of direct and immediate concern to the Security
Council. I refer to regional threats to peace and security in the Central African
Republic. As the Secretary-General reports, putschists who have fled the country
have taken refuge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Democratic Republic
of the Congo is an embattled country, and it would not be difficult for them
to mobilize resources to cross the border and threaten Bangui. The Council should
take the steps at its disposal to secure the apprehension of the chief instigators
of the coup attempt, or at least to prevent them from infiltrating. We are told
also that some of the putschists are present among the refugees, which makes
the situation and the threat still more serious.
We have also been informed about the proliferation of arms in the subregion,
in particular in the areas bordering Equateur province of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, controlled by the Front de libération du congo (FLC) and
the Mouvement pour la libération du Congo (MLC) of Jean-Pierre Bemba.
I believe that the Council will have to find ways and means to address this
threat.
The Central African Republic is now in a situation of crisis that requires an
immediate increase in the levels of external assistance. That is the central
message that my delegation reads in the report of the Secretary-General. The
situation is described in terms of sharp political tension and a troubling lack
of security. The question before us as the Security Council is what we can and
should do. We recognize, of course, that these socio-economic and political
aspects are not strictly within the Council’s competence, and that is
why, in our last presidential statement, the Council called upon the other relevant
actors — in particular, the Bretton Woods institutions — to consider
the special situation in the Central African Republic. We are encouraged to
note from the World Bank representative that some $17 million have been allocated
for HIV/AIDS. That responds to a very urgent need. We have also noted the intention
of the World Bank to provide $8 million for poverty eradication. However, we
are deeply disturbed to learn that the World Bank has suspended disbursements
to the Government of the Central African Republic for non-payment of amounts
due. This is not a criticism of the World Bank; possibly that amount is due.
What we are concerned about is to find alternative resources for the survival
of a very fragile Government.

AMIS D'AFRIQUE cf. NGOs, HIV/AIDS, HEALTH, JAPANESE RELATIONS
The Director-General and President of Amis d'Afrique is Mizuko Tokunaga

"Japan provides US $630,000 to fight HIV/AIDS."
NAIROBI, 2 Nov 2001 (IRIN) - The Government of the Central African Republic
(CAR) and Japanese NGO Amis d'Afrique (Friends of Africa) signed a letter of
agreement on Wednesday for a US $630,000 grant in support of reinforcing HIV/AIDS
responses in communities in the CAR, the World Bank announced from Bangui. The
grant will finance activities in the fight against HIV/AIDS in local communities
by reinforcing a number of ongoing interventions undertaken by Amis d'Afrique.
The grant, has four components: medical care and treatment; home-based care
and family support; information, education and communication and prevention
in schools and youth centers; and capacity-building with evaluation and monitoring.
"The grant supports an innovative approach of contracting NGOs and other
community groups in the delivery of HIV/AIDS interventions in the CAR,"
the World Bank reported. "Amis d'Afrique, the grant implementing agency,
established in 1993 to assist in the fight against HIV/AIDS, has been building
capacity at the local level," it continued. "In addition, the agency
will contract other NGOs to deliver information, education and communication
programmes in the schools or to train traditional healers in HIV/AIDS care and
support in order to reach a wider segment of the country." The World Bank
Vice-President for the Africa Region, Callisto Madavo, said the grant "provides
an opportunity for meaningful partnership among the government, the World Bank,
Amis d'Afrique and the civil society in the common goal of mitigating the impact
of HIV/AIDS on the economy and curbing the epidemic in the country". Director-General
and President of Amis d'Afrique Mizuko Tokunaga said he was "grateful that
our activity can be expanded by working together with the World Bank project"
in light of the increasing number of HIV/AIDS patients. The World Bank estimates
that annual per capita growth in half the countries of sub-Saharan Africa is
falling by 0.5 percent to 1.2 percent as a direct result of AIDS and that by
2010, per capita GDP in some of the hardest hit countries may drop by as much
as 8 percent. Annual basic care and treatment for a person with AIDS (without
antiretroviral drugs) can cost as much as two to three times per capita GDP
in the poorest countries. Today, 36 million people live with HIV/AIDS, more
than 95 percent of them in developing countries. Over 21 million people have
so far died, three million of them in 2000 alone. AIDS is now the leading cause
of death in sub-Saharan Africa.

AMITIÉ HOSPITAL IN BANGUI cf. CHINA

The first person to pay the price for the president's new-found
zeal for clean government was André Zanafei Toumbona, health minister
in the government of Mr Patassé's first prime minister, Jean-Luc Mandaba.
[Toumbona] was arrested in mid-August [2005] on suspicion of having stolen CFAfr26.9m
($55,000) in Chinese aid money intended for the Amitié hospital in Bangui.
The hospital director, accused of paying the money into an account in the minister's
name at a Bangui bank, was also detained. It is too early to say whether the
allegations are true....By late August Mr Tombona was ill in [a] hospital in
Bangui himself, and his lawyers requested permission for his transfer for treatment
to Paris. (EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic," 4th Quarter
1995, p. 21)

Amnesty International, International Secretariat. Central African
Republic: Five Months of War Against Women. London: International Secretariat,
2004. 31p. Includes bibliography.

AMORUSO

Amoruso, David. "Profile of Victor Bout." Gangsters Incorporated,
Visited 10 November, 2005, gangstersinc.tripod.com/VictorBout.html
Victor Anatoliyevich Bout was born on January 13, 1967 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Not much is known about his early life but at one point he joined the military
and after training began working at a Russian military base at Vitebsk as a
navigator. After a few years he... began training commando troops of the Russian
airforce. In 1991 Bout graduated from Moscow's Institute of Foreign Languages
and could speak six languages fluently... became a translator for the Russian
army in Angola, Africa... that same year, 1991, the military base where Bout
was working was disbanded as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union...
Bout started Transavia Export Cargo Company which in 1993 helped supply the
Belgian peacekeeping forces in Somalia... Bout...made contacts with [the Northern
Alliance in Afghanistan which was fighting the Taliban and sold them lots of
weapons]. From 1993 to 1995 Bout supplies many Afghani groups tons of ammunition
and supplies. With the money he made from these deals, allegedly $50 million,
Bout expanded his empire. In March 1995 Bout started a company in the Belgian
city Oostende (Ostend) [named] Trans Aviation Network Group... main customer,
the Afghani Northern Alliance, was pushed out of power by the Taliban. In May
of 1995 a plane filled with weapons and ammunition destined for the Afghani
Northern Alliance was intercepted by the Taliban. The crew was held until [16
August 1996] when they managed to escape. Not long after, Bout had a new customer,
the Taliban... he had sold them weapons before... in Ostend, Belgium he bought
a mansion and several expensive cars... [but] in 1997 Belgian newspapers published
reports about Bout's shady operations and when Belgian authorities started looking
into his business Bout moved to the United Arab Emirates... founded [a company]
in 1995, based first in Sharjah and later in 2001 in Ajman [which became] his
base of operations. The U.A.E. was...a major financial center and a crossroads
for East and West trade and with its bank secrecy laws and free trade zones...In
1995 Bout founded Air Ces in Liberia... U.S. and U.N. officials say that Bout
airlifted thousands upon thousands of assault rifles, grenade and missile launchers
and millions of ammunition rounds into Africa. Clients of Bouts' companies Angola,
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial
Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda, South Africa, Sierra
Leone, Swaziland and Uganda.... Most of the weapons came from Bulgaria [to which
Bout made] numerous trips between 1995 and 2000. In 2000 Bout was seen visiting
six weapons factories there. Between July 1997 and September 1998 Bout organized
38 flights with weapons shipment worth an estimated $14 million to African nations.
In the summer of 200 four of Bout's planes landed in Liberia with... helicopters,
armored vehicles, anti-aircraft guns and automatic rifles... Bout was protected
by high E.A.U. royalty and officials such as Sultan Hamad Said Nassir al-Suwaidi,
advisor to the ruler of Sharjah, who [is reputed to own] one of Bout's companies.
(David Amoruso, "Profile of Victor Bout." Gangsters Incorporated,
Visited 10 November, 2005, gangstersinc.tripod.com/VictorBout.html)

Scherer, Michael. "Dealing with the Merchant of Death."
Mother Jones, 20 September 2004, www.motherjones.com/news/update/2004/09/09_413.html
For the war effort in Iraq, the Bush administration has hired at least one company
tied to the network of Victor Bout, one of the world's most notorious arms traffickers.
The U.S. government has for years kept in its sights one of the world’s
most notorious arms traffickers, Victor Bout. Known on both sides of the Atlantic
as the "merchant of death," Bout has been implicated in running guns
and missiles to combatants across the world, from the Taliban and Northern Alliance
in Afghanistan to the UNITA rebels of Angola and the teen-age army of Liberia’s
former tyrant, Charles Taylor. He has been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury
from doing any business in the United States, faces an arrest warrant for money
laundering in Belgium, and was aggressively pursued by the Clinton administration.
"We were trying to take him out of business," says Witney Schneidman,
an Africa expert who worked in the State Department at the time.
But now the Bush administration has hired at least one company tied to Bout's
network for the war effort in Iraq. Records obtained by Mother Jones show that
as recently as August, Air Bas, a company tied to Bout and his associates, was
flying charter missions under contract with the U.S. military in Iraq. Air Bas
is overseen by Victor Bout’s brother, Serguei, and his long-time business
manager, Richard Chichakli, an accountant living in Texas; in the past, payments
for Air Bas have gone to a Kazakh company that the United Nations identifies
as "a front for the leasing operations of Victor Bout’s aircraft."
Concerns about Bout’s work for the United States date back to May, when
Senator Russ Feingold asked the Pentagon and the State Department to scour their
files for any evidence of contracts with companies tied to Bout. An inquiry
conducted by the State Department found, according to a State Department source,
that "there were allegations that raised our concerns, and we shared those
concerns with the Department of Defense." Months later, however, the Pentagon
has yet to respond, and officials there would not say whether they are looking
into the State Department’s concerns.
Air Bas, meanwhile, has continued to fly U.S. military missions into Baghdad
and the northern Iraqi air base of Balad, landing most recently on August 4,
according to refueling records kept by the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC).
The records make no mention of the specific Pentagon unit that employs Air Bas,
though they confirm, according to the DESC, that the flights have been approved
by military commanders for "official government purposes." Officials
with the Army and Air Force said they knew of no contract with Air Bas; Central
Command and the Marines did not return Mother Jones’ calls. "We deal
solely with the prime [contractors]," says Cynthia Smith, an Army spokeswoman.
"We don’t have any control over who they get to subcontract."
Chichakli, for his part, says Air Bas "is a contractor of the United States
Army. That is something I don’t think I will discuss with you." He
says Victor Bout has no ties to the company. According to the U.N., Air Bas
was established in 2002 in Texas and quickly set up offices in the United Arab
Emirates, in the same building where Victor Bout had once operated another airline,
Air Cess. As an umbrella company for several Bout enterprises, Air Cess had
become notorious during the 1990s for its role funneling weapons and cargo to
militias in Angola. Both Serguei Bout and Chichakli helped run Air Cess, according
to U.N. reports. After the company went out of business, Chichakli and Serguei
Bout founded Air Bas, purchasing several Air Cess planes. The U.N. concluded
in a 2003 report on arms trafficking in Somalia that Air Bas was a "front
operation" that the Bout family was using to maintain a presence in the
Persian Gulf.
Rumors of Bout doing work for the Bush Administration have circled through the
diplomatic and intelligence communities for a few years. Following the 2002
arrest in Belgium of a Bout associate, Sanjivan Ruprah, the Netherlands-based
International Peace and Information Service reported that Ruprah’s seized
laptop computer held a letter to a Federal Bureau of Investigation contact detailing
plans for Bout to exploit ties to the Northern Alliance to help the U.S. efforts
to overthrow the Taliban. "Victor and I have discussed various aspects
of coordination with yourselves regarding Afghanistan," Ruprah wrote to
the FBI, according to the report. "We have very good relationships [with
anti-Taliban forces]." The FBI did not respond to requests for comment.
In late 2002, an investigator for the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity
reported that Chichakli had told him that Bout had been flying U.S. troops into
Afghanistan. In an interview with Mother Jones, Chichakli denied saying anything
about a Bout role in Afghanistan. Victor Bout is believed to be living in Russia,
where he has been isolated since 2000 when international publicity of his activities
forced him into seclusion. Born in Tajikistan, he is known to carry at least
five passports and use as many aliases. Speaking from his offices in Richardson,
Texas, Chichakli said the continued concern over Bout’s activities was
unfounded. He declined to put Mother Jones in touch with Bout. "Victor
said if anybody calls you, unless it’s Jesus himself, with an ID, don’t
bring him to me," Chichakli said. (Scherer, Michael. "Dealing with
the Merchant of Death." Mother Jones, 20 September 2004, www.motherjones.com/news/update/2004/09/09_413.html)

ANAGNOSTELLIS, D. cf. ARSLANIAN, ANTWERP, DIAMONDS,
SODIAM
Dmitri Anagnostellis, a Greek tycoon who became involved with Bokassa in business
ventures to export diamonds from the CAR, and whose wife Andrée served
as Bokassa's secretary from 1966-1974

Bokassa succeeding in siphoning off some of the revenue from
[diamonds], but it was hardly sufficient to satisfy his wants. By 1969 he had
saved only enough to purchase Villemorant, his first château in France.
He knew that the diamond business offered him the surest road to wealth and
he also knew that it would have to be deregulated in order to achieve his goal.
Consequently, the all-too-honest Malendoma was shuffled out of the economics
portfolio and the careful supervision of the trade began to lapse. In 1969 a
new company, Centradiam, made its appearance on the Bangui diamond market. It
was not part of the established consortium, whose monopoly was now terminated.
Bokassa himself, it turned out, was a major shareholder in the company, whose
principal financial backing came from the Anagnostellis brothers - Greek tycoons
with an unsavoury background. Andrée, the wife of Dmitri Anagnostellis,
actually served as Bokassa's secretary between 1966 and 1974. Dmitri represented
Arslanian, the Antwerp-based dimond company that was known as Sodiam. (Titley,
Dark Age, p. 74, citing Interview, former official of the Taillerie nationale
de diamant, Bangui, March 1990). Centradiam paid no taxes, license fee, or anything
of the kind, and it took little imagination to figure out where much of the
profit was going. (Titley, Dark Age, p. 74).

ANDERSON, A.
Missionary Pastor Arthur Anderson of The Sudan Mission served at Abba in Ubangi-Shari
and kept notes about the mission's work there. Excerpts are cited in Christianson,
For the Heart of Africa, p. 120, etc.

Cf. Anderson, "Notes about work in Abba and nearby regions of Ubangi-Shari."
16 November 1936, etc., cited in Christianson, For the Heart of Africa, p. 120,
etc.

"When the Weinhardts left Abba, it was decided to sent
as replacements Pastor and Mrs. Arthur Anderson, who had come to Mboula in June
1931, and also Miss Hilda Youngren, who had come to the field in December, 1930.
The notes on Abba Station kept by the Andersons over a period of six years have
some encouraging reports. The following excerpts trace the growth of the work
there." (Christianson, For the Heart of Africa, p. 96.)

PRE-HISTORY
People probably lived in the CAR before 1000 B.C., but we know little about
their early history. Huge stone monuments weighing three to four tons, found
along the banks of streams near Bouar, tell of an ancient culture. No written
records exist. (Anderson, Central African Republic, p. 60).

POST-WORLD WAR II
After World War II, during which the [colony of Ubangi-Shari] served as an important
base for the Free French under Charles de Gaulle, the colony was granted its
own assembly, French citizenship [sic: misleading], and representation in the
French parliament. Political parties were formed. Barthélémy Boganda,
a former Catholic priest and a prominent political leader, was recognized as
a strong voice for African nationalism. He was the country's first prime minister.
(Anderson, Central African Republic, p. 61).

BOKASSA AND THE CENTRAL AFRICAN EMPIRE
[On the night of 31 December 1965 - 1 January 1966], Col. Jean-Bédel
Bokassa... overthrew Dacko... in a military coup, dissolved the national assembly,
and voided the constitution. (Anderson, Central African Republic, p. 61).
Bokassa's regime was marked by unpredictability, frequent cabinet changes, and
personal use of power. He ruled by decree. Political opponents were executed
or given long prison sentences. Many were accused of treason, arrested, or expelled.
In an effort to control crime, Bokassa set harsh terms for thieves: the loss
of ears and hands, among others. He ordered prison sentences for "vagabonds,"
"idlers," and tax evaders. No one knew what to expect next. As a result,
after an early upsurge in the economy [cash crops increased...under a development
program called "Operation Bokassa"], progress came to a halt. (Anderson,
Central African Republic, p. 61).
On [4 December 1976], Bokassa proclaimed Central Africa an Empire and was crowned
emperor in an elaborate ceremony costing over $25 million. He donned a crown
of 2,000 diamonds, sat on a gold-plated throne, and transported his retinue
in a fleet of 50 Mercedes cars. However, of 2,000 invited guests, only 400 showed
up. (Anderson, Central African Republic, p. 62).
Becoming increasingly unstable, Bokassa personally led his troops in beatings
of convicted thieves and, in 1978, was accused of taking part in the killing
of 100 students who had rioted to protest an order to wear uniforms made by
members of the royal family. (Anderson, Central African Republic, p. 62).
A government-in-exile was formed and, in September 1979, with the help of the
French government and three hundred of its troops, Bokassa was overthrown in
a bloodless coup while he was visiting in Libya. Former president Dacko, who
had served as Bokassa's personal advisor, was returned to power [by the French]
and the country was renamed the Central African Republic. Bokassa was granted
asylum by [the] Ivory Coast. (Anderson, Central African Republic, p. 62).
Dacko promised to restore democratic freedoms and called for "national
unity." (Anderson, Central African Republic, p. 62).

EDUCATION c. 1980
France did little to prepare the country for independence. Less than one percent
of the budget went for education. Poor schools, inadequate health care, and
wide unemployment were common. Control was often in the hands of charter companies
and their armies [sic], or administrators who lived in France and were unfamiliar
with local problems. (Anderson, Central African Republic, p. 62).
A mere 18 percent of its people can read and write [in c. 1980]. Most of the
children who go to school attend the primary grades only, where there is one
teacher for every 70 students. Only one in ten go on to the 25 high schools
or the few technical schools and teacher-training institutes and agricultural
college. Jean-Bédel Bokassa University [the University of Bangui], offering
courses in law, science, and medicine, was established in Bangui in 1974. About
300 students attend. Some young Central Africans attend college abroad, mostly
in France. (Anderson, Central African Republic, p. 59).

EXPORTS c. 1980
Coffee and cotton are the chief crops raised for export. Coffee accounts for
about two-fifths of the total; cotton, diamonds, and timber, about one-fifth
each. Other cash crops are cocoa, rubber, palm oil products, tobacco, bananas,
and groundnuts. Crops depend on good weather. Good weather in 1976 and 1977,
combined with better organization and increased world prices, brought exports
to $80 million. (Anderson, Central African Republic, p. 63).

"Paris, France, 08/24 - France has donated 25,000 euros
for use by non- governmental organisations in the Central African Republic to
tackle health risks posed by recent flooding in Bangui, the capital, official
sources said. "As a matter of emergency, it`s all about preventing and
curbing typhoid, diarrhoea, parasitosis, malaria and respiratory infections,"
French foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei revealed here Monday.
Floods, brought about by heavy rains in early August in Bangui, led to the collapse
of several houses, leaving a substantial number of residents homeless. Pools
of stagnant water left in parts of the city have also been feared as sources
of diseases. The World Health Organisation (WHO), UN Children`s Fund (UNICEF),
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have mobilised to come to the rescue of
the victims."

Included in the cabinet [of Mr Koyambounou in 1995] to handle
the awkward public service portfolio is the chairman of the Convention nationale
(CN) party, Eloi Anguimate, which draws its support heavily from the large Banda
tribe. (EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic," 3rd Quarter
1995, p. 26)

ANGUS REID CONSULTANTShttp://www.angus-reid.com/tracker/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=5234
Background
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – The former French colony—known as Ubangi-Shari—became
independent in 1960. For 33 years, the country was a de-facto dictatorship,
ruled in succession by three military commanders. First president David Dacko
was overthrown by his cousin Jean-Bédel Bokassa in 1966.
Bokassa established a lavish regime, proclaiming himself as emperor in 1976.
As human rights violations proliferated in the Central African Republic, a series
of riots led to the death of many civilians. In 1979, the French government
backed a coup to remove Bokassa and restore Dacko.
Dacko was overthrown again in 1981 by André Kolingba, who ruled uninterrupted
until 1993, when Ange-Félix Patassé won the presidential election
representing the Mouvement pour la Libération du Peuple Centrafricain
(MLPC—Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People). Patassé
became the country’s first civilian president, and won re-election in
1999, defeating Kolingba in a ballot decried by opposition parties as fraudulent.
On Mar. 15, 2003, army general François Bozizé led a coup d’etat
to topple the government of Patassé while the president attended a conference
in Niger. Bozizé—who had aided Patassé’s government
to deal with violent revolts and mutinies in 1996 and 1997—appointed Abel
Goumba as vice-president and Célestin Gaoumbale as prime minister in
December 2003. Bozizé vowed to oversee a "transitional period"
that would eventually lead to presidential and legislative elections in 2005.

2005 Presidential, Parliamentary Elections
In October 2004, voters enlisted in the electoral rolls after the country’s
Independent Mixed Electoral Commission (CEMI) established more than 5,000 registration
posts. CEMI’s $10.8 million U.S. budget was partially funded by the European
Union (EU). Citizens were registered after their age and identity were verified,
and received a voter card immediately. Central African Republic nationals living
in other African and European nations, as well as the minority Batwa, were able
to sign up as well.
On Dec. 5, the country’s voters participated in a referendum on whether
to adopt a new constitution. The proposed body of law sought to restore civilian
rule in the Central African Republic, reduce the powers of the president, and
strengthen the influence of the prime minister and the National Assembly. Preliminary
results were released on Dec. 6, suggesting close to 90 per cent of all voters
supported the new constitution.
The end of the "transitional period" was to begin with the first round
of presidential and National Assembly elections on Jan. 30, 2005. A second round
was scheduled for Feb. 27.
Deposed former president Ange-Félix Patassé—currently exiled
in Togo—was nominated once again by the Mouvement pour la Libération
du Peuple Centrafricain (MLPC—Movement for the Liberation of the Central
African People). Patassé’s return to the Central African Republic
was uncertain, as he faces corruption and human rights abuses charges.
Former prime minister Jean Paul Ngoupandé of the Parti de l’Unité
Nationale (PUN—National Unity Party), current parliamentarian Josué
Binoua and former president André Kolingba—who administered the
government from 1981 to 1993—also expressed interest in becoming presidential
candidates. On Dec. 11, current president François Bozizé announced
he would be contending as an independent.

On Dec. 31, the transitional Constitutional Court cleared five
candidates to participate in the election, and banned 10 politicians, including
Patassé, former prime ministers Martin Ziguele and Ngoupandé,
and former defence minister Jean-Jacques Demafouth. Some prospective contenders
were blocked for not providing the $10,000 U.S. deposit, not owning a house
in their place of residence, or not tendering actual copies of their birth certificates.
The list of candidates included Bozizé, former president Kolingba, current
vice-president Abel Goumba, lawyer Henri Pouzere and former minister Auguste
Boukanga.

On Jan. 5, 2005, Bozizé allowed three more candidates—Ngoupandé,
Ziguele and Charles Massi of the Forum Démocratique pour la Modernité
(FODEM—Democratic Forum for Modernity)—to run for the presidency.
The current head of state said the decision aims to "preserve peace and
support from international donor organizations for the electoral process."

On Jan. 7, the government requested the International Criminal
Court (ICC) to look into whether war crimes were committed in the country during
Patassé’s tenure. The inquiry can only go as far back as 2002,
when the tribunal’s jurisdiction began.

On Jan. 24, barred candidates and representatives of the government
convened in Libreville, with Gabonese president Omar Bongo acting as a mediator.
After the meeting, the list of presidential candidates grew to 11, but Patassé
was still not allowed to run. The election was re-scheduled for Mar. 13.

On Feb. 26, campaign activities officially began. Aside from
the 11 presidential contenders, 709 candidates—including 152 women—are
seeking a seat in the National Assembly.
Voting took place on Mar. 13. Aside from some polling stations that opened late,
there were no major problems to report. Bozizé said the election was
"a novel event in the Central African Republic, a true democracy is being
established." CEMI chairman Jean Willybiro-Sako expressed satisfaction
with the apparently large turnout, saying voters "showed patience and discipline
in the waiting lines often under a merciless sun."

On Mar. 14, CEMI spokesman René Sakanga-Morouba said
the election "went well." Some reports indicated that polling stations
in Bangui remained open for several hours as voters waited in line. Some citizens
complained about a new procedure, which lists all candidates in a single ballot
instead of providing separate papers for each contender.
On Mar. 16, Bozizé dismissed vice-president Goumba—a presidential
contender—before final tallies were announced. Government spokesman Alain-George
Ngatoua said the vice-presidency was dissolved "because the new constitution
does not make provision for the position." Goumba declared he was "disgusted
by the way this has been done" saying he learned of the decision through
state radio.
A statement from election monitors said some deficiencies "have been pointed
out (but) do not amount to irregularities. (...) These elections can henceforth
be considered free, reliable, fair and transparent."
On Mar. 22, spokesman Gaston King Mahoutou said Kolingba was the target of a
failed assassination attempt, after gunshots were fired outside the candidate’s
house. The Interior Ministry deemed the clash a "misunderstanding"
between soldiers.
Preliminary results were released on Mar. 23. With just over half of all the
votes counted, Bozizé was in first place with 44.6 per cent, followed
by Ziguele with 27.3 per cent and Kolingba with 13.5 per cent. Opposition spokesman
Joseph Douacle complained about delays in issuing partial tallies, saying, "We
all want the results purely and simply annulled."
On Mar. 31, CEMI chief Jean Willybiro Sacko said no contender "has managed
to cross the 50 per cent barrier" and scheduled a run-off between the top
two candidates for May 1. Bozizé finished in first place with 42.9 per
cent of the vote, followed by Ziguele with 23.5 per cent.

On Apr. 3, CEMI announced that 17 candidates had secured a
seat in the National Assembly. The remaining 88 legislators will be chosen during
the May 1 run-off.
On Apr. 13, CEMI declared that the run-off would be postponed until May 8. No
reason for the change of date was provided. On Apr. 21, Ngoupandé and
Massi endorsed Bozizé in the run-off.

Run-off voting took place on May 8. CEMI reported that the
second round progressed "calmly" in the capital and other regions
of the country. The ballot-tallying process began on May 9.

On May 10, early results in five of the districts in Bangui
had incumbent Bozizé in the lead. CEMI chairman Sako said turnout for
the run-off appeared to be "slightly down" from the 68.27 per cent
of the first round.
On May 14, CEMI issued partial results. With 40 per cent of all cast ballots
tallied, Bozizé was in first place with almost 60 per cent of the vote,
followed by Ziguele with 37 per cent.
Official results were released on May 24. Bozizé was declared the winner
with 64.23 per cent of the vote, with Ziguele finishing second with 35.77 per
cent. Ziguele conceded defeat, saying the ballot had been a "full expression
of the Central African people."
In the National Assembly ballot, the Convergence Nationale "Kwa Na Kwa"
(KNK—National Convergence "Kwa Na Kwa") became the top political
group with 42 seats. The coalition includes the Parti de l’Unité
Nationale (PUN—National Unity Party) and the Mouvement pour la Démocratie
et le développement (MDD—Movement for Democracy and Development).

World Bank, Reversing the Spiral, The Population, Agriculture
and Environment Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa, reveals that the natural environment
in the CAR is under pressure, though less so than in many other African countries....
By 1990 a dozen of the country's 208 known mammal species were threatened, as
were two bird species and two reptile species. (EIU Country Report, "Central
African Republic," 2nd Quarter 1995, p. 25)

[Animals in the dense forest region of southern CAR where
the Aka live]
Many of the vertebrate species exploited by the Aka are common throughout the
forest. These include porcupine, pangolin, small carnivores such as civet, genet,
and mongoose, several [types of] monkeys, and several artiodactyls [even-toed
ungulates (hoofed mammals)], principally small and medium-sized duikers and
bush pig. (Hudson, "Advancing methods in zooarchaeology," p. 44)

The Ngandu [Bantu people who live in the Lobaye region] moved
into the area only 120 years ago... the Aka [pygmies] depend heavily on Ngandu
for manioc and other village goods... The Ngandu... keep chickens, muskovy ducks,
goats, sheep, and dogs. Men hunt occasionally with crossbows, steel-wire snares,
and guns for monkeys, a variety of small duikers, wild pigs, bongos and other
animals. All Ngandu grow at least some coffee as a cash crop. Ngandu men occasionally
hunt, but they receive the majority of their meat through trade with Aka. The
Aka provide the Ngandu with game meat, honey, koko [leaves], and other forest
products, and the Ngandu provide the Aka with manioc and other village products.
There are a government-sponsored school, dispensary, and police station in the
village. (Hewlett, Intimate Fathers, p. 43-44).

The practice by early Catholic missionaries in Ubangi-Shari
of procuring children was described as follows in Annales Apostoliques, a journal
published by the Holy Fathers, in January 1903:

The purchase (rachat) of a child does not take long to conclude.
His master presents him to you, he is summarily examined, and a price is asked
[for him]. The seller wants to get as much as possible, [but] the missionary
offers as little as possible in order to deliver the largest number [from their
fate]. After several minutes, the sale is finished, the payment is made in beads
or in powder; a mirror or a fathom (brasse) of cloth are the final gifts. (Oubangui:
Esclavage et anthropophagie, pp. 18-21, cited in Guillaume, Du Miel au Café,
p. 270).

ANNALES DE LA PROPAGATION DE LA FOI cf. CATHOLIC CHURCH

Beneteau, Father Stanilas. [Article about Ubangian customs "Anvil of the
Blacksmith?"]. Annales de la Propagation de la Foi, 92 (1920):121-129.

Anvil of the Blacksmith
The only industry of the Blacks in our regions is forging iron (travail de fer).
Their only real profession (métier) is that of the blacksmith. But not
just anyone can become a blacksmith; the hereditary profession is habitually
the prerogative of the chief's family. There is a long [period of] apprenticeship,
which gives rise to the proverb: "It's by forging [iron] that one become
a blacksmith." One rarely gains a perfect knowledge of the profession before
one is mature, and even for the most able it takes a whole day to give definitive
form to an object so simple as the little native hoe. To know how to forge is
the height of art. One does not imagine anything above it, it is the limit of
industry and the ability of man. (Quoted in Banville, Raconte-moi la Mission,
p. 75 [Trans. Bradshaw])

ANNAN Cf. MINURCA, UN SECURITY COUNCIL
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Cf. "Annan calls for peacekeeping extension." IRIN, 3 February 1999.
NAIROBI, 3 Feb 1999 (IRIN) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended
that the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) should
stay on in the country until presidential elections scheduled for the latter
half of this year. In his latest report to the Security Council on the mission,
Annan said MINURCA “has been and remains a source of much needed stability”
in the country and the subregion as a whole, the UN information service reported
yesterday. Welcoming a letter addressed to him by President Ange Felix Patasse
outlining the government’s commitments to carry out a number of reforms,
Annan said they represent an indispensable condition for further progress. According
to the Secretary-General, satisfactory action on these commitments could result
in the early participation of the opposition, adoption by the National Assembly
of a budget and legislation to restructure the armed forces. He suggested an
initial extension of the MINURCA mandate for a period of six months until 31
August, subject to a further determination by the Security Council after three
months that the government has made acceptable progress in carrying out the
reforms.

Cf. "Council urges joint reconciliation efforts."
IRIN, 22 March 1999.
NAIROBI, 22 Mar 1999 (IRIN) - The UN Security Council last week called on all
political leaders in the CAR to work together towards full implementation of
the Bangui Agreements and the National Reconciliation Pact. In a statement,
Council President Qin Huasun of China said members also urged the government,
in collaboration with all political parties, to take concrete steps to establish
a new electoral commission for presidential elections, scheduled for later this
year, and to continue efforts to restructure its security forces. The statement
was made after the Council received a briefing on the situation in the country
by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Oluyemi Adeniji,
who is also head of the UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA).

"Annan says reforms must go further." IRIN, 19 April
1999.
NAIROBI, 19 Apr 1999 (IRIN) - The Central African Republic has made some moves
towards reform but progress has been slow and further action is urgently required,
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported on Monday. On the plus side, a decree
by the government on the creation of the Mixed and Independent Electoral Commission
(CEMI) has prepared the ground for presidential elections scheduled for August/September,
according to the Secretary-General's report on the UN Mission in the Central
African Republic (MINURCA). He also said that "the imminent adoption of
the laws on restructuring the armed forces is a major step in the right direction".
However, "further action is urgently required for the Government to fully
demonstrate adherence to the commitments made to the Secretary-General by President
Patassé", the report noted. For instance, the late start in the
inauguration of the electoral commission had delayed decisions regarding funding,
revision of the electoral register, practical and logistical preparations and
even the date of polling. The Secretary-General said that although the situation
remained calm and the country was "an island of relative stability"
in the region, intense distrust persisted among the country's political leaders
and the economic and social situation remained precarious. The report renewed
the Secretary-General's appeal to donors to contribute to the restructuring
of the armed forces in the Central African Republic, calling it "an important
process" which would help stabilise the security situation in the country
and the sub-region as a whole. He also appealed for contributions to support
the Central African police force, which is receiving training under the MINURCA
civilian police component (CIVPOL). The report on MINURCA is to be addressed
by the UN Security Council on Wednesday (21 April).

"Annan urges preparations for polls." IRIN, 2 June
1999.
NAIROBI, 2 Jun 1999 (IRIN) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday urged
the CAR government to expedite its preparations for the presidential election
scheduled for later this year. In a report to the Security Council, he said
further delays or a reduction in electoral support for CAR may jeopardise the
entire purpose of the UN mission, MINURCA. He urged the Council to support the
plan submitted by the mission to “ensure an acceptable level of observation
of the freedom and fairness” of the election process. “The deployment
plans are essential to make the election credible,” he said.
Annan said the delays experienced so far had “seriously impaired”
the degree to which MINURCA could assist the process. He also appealed for financial
assistance to restructure the armed forces, police and gendarmerie. “Further
progress in the establishment of a well-trained and adequately-equipped security
force is essential in view of the volatility of the situation within and around
the Central African Republic,” he said.

French Equatorial Africa limited recruitment by the administration
itself to "a third of the ablebodied male population that had reached adult
age" and by 1926 warned the new exploiters of the forest areas that they
were setting up their work sites "at their own risk and peril and in the
knowledge that they were in danger of not finding the necessary manpower on
the spot." The official rates of recruitment were generally exceeded, however,
by a variety of means. The concept of ablebodied male, for example, could be
translated loosely... (Coquery-Vidrovitch, Africa: Endurance and Change South
of the Sahara, p. 229, citing Avis du G. G. Antonetti, Journal Officiel de l'AEF
1, no. 6 [1926]; and 1, no. 12 [1927].)

...politics, not argument, finally sent the Congo-Nile mission on its way. Marchand's
old commanding officer, Archinard, was fighting the civilians from his perch
in the Defense Office. He...guided Marchand to deputies who could help the campaign,
and politicked to destroy the influence of civilian opponents. He prepared instructions
to be sent to Liotard stating that a reduced colonial budget would "not
permit him to occupy all the posts ceded to us by the Belgians." Liotard
would have to stay where he was, and await the arrival of "some missions"
organized to occupy the Nile basin, and to which Liotard was to lend his full
cooperation. Archinaud even proposed recalling Liotard. Roume strongly disapproved
and Archinard's instructions were countermanded. But shortly after Marchand's
impatient January letter, Roume resigned his post. His replacement was one Gustave
Binger, the former governor of the new Ivory Coast colony, an active member
of the Comité de l'Afrique Francaise, and a former army officer who had
served under Archinaud....The minister of colonies, the gray Monsieur Guieysse,
now decided it was politic to approve Marchand's scheme for the second time.
On 24 February 1896, he signed the captain's preliminary marching orders, but
expressly subordinated his mission to Liotard's authority....(Lewis, The Race
to Fashoda, p. 89.)

Aristide said...he thought he was being taken to the Caribbean
island of Antigua, but instead he has been exiled to the Central African Republic...[he]
arrived Monday [?] according to the country's state radio. (www.notinourname.net/war/haiti-1mar04.htm)

Editor of Haiti-Progres, Kim Ives had a lengthy interview with Aristide while
in the Central African Republic. Ives works with the Haiti Support Network.

ARMED FORCES cf. ARMY, AIR FORCE, GENDARMERIE, DEFENCE AND SECURITY

In 1989 the [armed] forces of the CAR remained stable at 6,500
troops: 3,500 in the Army, 300 in the Air Force, 2,700 in a para-military gendarmerie
[national police force]. This was supplemented by a small French force that
ranged from 1,000-2,000. Service is based on a selective conscription for a
two-year period, with varying terms of reserve obligation. The... [1987 figures]
list defense expenditures at $18.67m with an additional $10.18m (1988) in support
from France and the United States (US). The Army includes one Republican Guard
Regiment (two battalions), one territorial defense regiment (one battalion),
one combined arms regiment (one mechanized and one infantry battalion), one
support/HQ regiment, and one Presidential Guard Regiment. (Webb, "Central
African Republic," ACR 1989-1990, p. B172).

The small armed forces, numbering just 6,500 including the
gendarmerie [national police force], are not strong enough to control the CAR's
vast land area. They have difficulty even dealing with elephant pouchers, and
there must be doubts about their ability to withstand any attempt to take over
the country. This makes the Kolingba government still partly dependent upon
the reassurance provided by the French troops at Bangui and Bou[a]r, now thought
to number about 1,000 in all (EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic,"
1st Quarter 1990, p. 23)

The [armed forces of the CAR] are taking on a further 200 men
to help combat banditry. The zar[a]guina (bandits or highwaymen in the local
dialect [Sango]) caused some damage in the first half of 1989 but do not seem
to have seriously disrupted the economy of development work. The USA, for example,
is quite content to keep its Peace Corps workers in the field across the country.
The additional soldiers may also help in the fight against poaching. Control
of both poachers and bandits is difficult in such a large, thinly populated
territory, especially when neighbouring eastern Chad and southern Sudan remain
lawless, with guns in plentiful supply. (EIU Country Report, "Central African
Republic," 2nd Quarter 1990, p. 26)

"CAR: Annan says reforms must go further." IRIN,
19 April 1999.
NAIROBI, 19 Apr 1999 (IRIN) - The Central African Republic has made some moves
towards reform but progress has been slow and further action is urgently required,
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported on Monday....He also said that "the
imminent adoption of the laws on restructuring the armed forces is a major step
in the right direction"... He also appealed for contributions to support
the Central African police force, which is receiving training under the MINURCA
civilian police component (CIVPOL). The report on MINURCA is to be addressed
by the UN Security Council on Wednesday (21 April).

"Annan urges preparations for polls." IRIN, 2 June
1999.
NAIROBI, 2 Jun 1999 (IRIN) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan... In a report
to the Security Council, ...appealed for financial assistance to restructure
the armed forces, police and gendarmerie. “Further progress in the establishment
of a well-trained and adequately-equipped security force is essential in view
of the volatility of the situation within and around the Central African Republic,”
he said.

"Security Council concerned at "minimal progress"
on security issues." IRIN, 21 July 1999.
NAIROBI, 21 Jul 1999 (IRIN) - The UN Security Council on Tuesday "expressed
dismay at the negative impact of continued fighting" and at the minimal
progress reported by the Secretary General's Special Representative, Oluyemi
Adeniji, on security issues underpinning the consolidation of democracy. Stressing
that the CAR government had "primary responsibility for maintaining peace
and security", Council members underlined the need for it to restructure
the armed forces, keep special defence forces from assuming law and order functions
beyond their mandate and ensure a secure environment in the run-up to elections
slated, in two rounds, for 29 August and 2 September.

22 November 2005
"China to Enhance Military Co-op with CAR." China View, 22 November
2005. news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-11/22/content_3819703.htm
BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- China is ready to enhance military cooperation
with the Central African Republic, said Chinese Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan
here Tuesday.
In a meeting with Antoine Gambi, chief of the General Staff of Central African
Republic, Cao said the people of the two countries have maintained traditional
friendship since they forged diplomatic ties in the 1960s, despite some setbacks
in the past. Cao, also vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC)
and state councilor, said China spoke positively of Central African Republic
for its adherence to the one-China policy and support for China's national unity.
China will continue to develop, together with the Central African Republic,
the friendly cooperation between the two countries and two armed forces, added
Cao, who also briefed the guests on the construction of China's army. Gambi
said Central African Republic and China have witnessed increasing cooperation
in various fields in recent years. He expressed the appreciation for China's
great help to his country and hoped that the current visit will move forward
the existing good relations between the two sides. Before the meeting, Liang
Guanglie, Gambi's Chinese counterpart and also a member of the CMC, held a welcoming
ceremony for Gambi and held a talk with him. ("China to Enhance Military
Co-op with CAR." China View, 22 November 2005. news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-11/22/content_3819703.htm)

The National Police are under the direction of the Ministry
of Interior and Public Security, while the military forces and the National
Gendarmerie are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense; all share
responsibility for internal security. Civilian authorities did not maintain
effective control of the security forces. By mid-January, the Government had
disbanded the Security Investigation Division (SERD), a military intelligence
unit that operated as part of presidential security services, due to accusations
that the SERD committed serious human rights abuses during 2003. In December
2003, President Bozize signed an order dismissing a number of soldiers from
the army because of indiscipline; the soldiers named reportedly were removed
from army lists and sent home. As part of its efforts to protect citizens and
safeguard property, the Government continued to support joint security operations
in the capital conducted by the Armed Forces, the Central African Economic and
Monetary Community (CEMAC) force, and French forces. In addition, BONUCA, a
U.N. peace-building mission in the country, operated during the year. Members
of the security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses.

ARMY cf. ARMED FORCES, GENDARMERIE, POLICE

A fledgling Central African army was taking shape under the
direction of the local French commander, General Marcel Bigeaud. While this
was happening, Captain Bokassa was seconded to Dacko as a member of his military
cabinet. This was a committee that advised the president (who was also Defense
Minister) on military matters. On 1 January 1962 Bokassa resigned his commission
in the French army and was integrated into the Central African forces with the
rank of battalion commandant. A little over a year later, on 1 February 1963,
he became commander-in-chief of the Central African army - an assemblage of
five hundred poorly trained and poorly equipped soldiers. On 1 December 1964,
he became the army's first and only colonel. (Titley, Dark Age, p. 21)

ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF THE ARMY
President Kolingba's personal adviser Octave Oudegbe, himself of Beninois origin
and rumoured to be a distant kinsman of President Kérékou, is
said to have negotiated the extradition [of Bozize and other opposition leaders
in Benin to the CAR]. Central African dissidents claim that General Bozize's
movement had been infiltrated by the Kolingba's secret agents. They supposedly
discovered that the group had hired two elite men to help in a coup attempt.
Paris sources suggest that Zaire's President Mobutu Sese Seko, who is close
to President Kolingba, sent an army Hercules transport plane to Cotonou to deliver
the prisoners, to Central Africa's autonomous armoured unit (EBA) in Bangui,
which is dominated by the president's own Yakoma tribe. (EIU Country Report,
"Central African Republic," 1st Quarter 1990, p. 23)

Bokassa succeeding in siphoning off some of the revenue from [diamonds], but
it was hardly sufficient to satisfy his wants. By 1969 he had saved only enough
to purchase Villemorant, his first château in France. He knew that the
diamond business offered him the surest road to wealth and he also knew that
it would have to be deregulated in order to achieve his goal. Consequently,
the all-too-honest Malendoma was shuffled out of the economics portfolio and
the careful supervision of the trade began to lapse. In 1969 a new company,
Centradiam, made its appearance on the Bangui diamond market. It was not part
of the established consortium, whose monopoly was now terminated. Bokassa himself,
it turned out, was a major shareholder in the company, whose principal financial
backing came from the Anagnostellis brothers - Greek tycoons with an unsavoury
background. Andrée, the wife of Dmitri Anagnostellis, actually served
as Bokassa's secretary between 1966 and 1974. Dmitri represented Arslanian,
the Antwerp-based dimond company that was known as Sodiam. (Titley, Dark Age,
p. 74, citing Interview, former official of the Taillerie nationale de diamant,
Bangui, March 1990). Centradiam paid no taxes, license fee, or anything of the
kind, and it took little imagination to figure out where much of the profit
was going. (Titley, Dark Age, p. 74).

The diamond economy of the CAR is also connected to diamond production by the
DRC's other main rebel faction, the RCD-Goma. This group is backed by Rwanda,
and controls the diamond town of Kisangani. Arslanian Frères reportedly
bought diamonds from a company based in Kisangani, Belco Diamant, and it also
runs the Sodiam bureau d'achat in Bangui. (Dietrich, "Hard Currency,"
p. 22)

ARTICLE 19 RESEARCH AND INFORMATION CENTRE ON CENSORSHIP

Cf. Freedom of information and expression in Central African
Republic: a commentary on the report submitted to the Human Rights Committee
by the government of Central African Republic. Article 19 Research & Information
Centre on Censorship, c1989. 22p. 30 cm.

Artiodactyla, or cloven-hooved mammals, include such familiar animals as sheep,
goats, camels, pigs, cows, deer, giraffes, and antelopes — most of the
world's species of large land mammals are artiodactyls. Many living artiodactyls
have evolved features that are adaptive for life on open grasslands. As beasts
of burden and as sources of meat, hair, and leather, artiodactyls have assumed
important roles in many cultures around the world. ("Introduction to the
Artiodactyla [order of mammals]," www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/artio/artiodactyla.html)

[Artiodactyla in the dense forest region of southern CAR where
the Aka live]
Many of the vertebrate species exploited by the Aka are common throughout the
forest. These include...several artiodactyls [even-toed ungulates (hoofed mammals)],
principally small and medium-sized duikers and bush pig. (Hudson, "Advancing
methods in zooarchaeology," p. 44)

The four principal game species exploited by local people [in
the Bayanga area of southwestern CAR], for subsistence and for trade in bushmeat,
are the brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) and three duikers (Cephalophus
callipygus, C. dorsalis, and C. monticola). Noss, "Duikers, Cables and
Nets," p. 64).

ASECNA
ASECNA is the Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa
and Madagascar.

Maurice Methot, a relation of Zaire's president Mobutu Sese
Seko, was named president of the [CAR's] National Assembly on [19 January 1988].
The 57 year old Mr Metho received agricultural training in Israel and South
Africa, and was president of the Chamber of Agriculture and Industry for 17
years. The appointment is a futher example of the friendly relations with CAR's
important neighbor to the south. In late November [1987] President Mobutu visited
Bangui, and signed a accord on energy cooperation and an agreement for the construction
and joint operation of a hydroelectric dam on the Oubangui river at Mobayi-Mbongo
in Zaire's Equateur province. In early January the two presidents met at Gbadolite,
the home town of the Zairean leader, to visit the dam site. (EIU Country Report,
"Central African Republic," 2nd Quarter 1988, p. 21)

The president of the National Assembly, Mr Metho, called on
Côte d'Ivoire President President Félix Houphouët-Boigny in
February [1988]. The Ivorian head of state gave asylum to Mr Bokassa from 1979
to 1983, and is said to be settling the bills of French lawyers who defended
the former emperor at his trial. (EIU Country Report, "Central African
Republic," 2th Quarter 1988, p. 23)

ASSEMBLÉE NATIONALE FRANÇAISE cf. FRENCH TROOPS, DEBT

1989 November
A delegation led by the chairman of the [French] Assemblée Nationale
defense commission, the Socialist Jean-Michel Boucheron, visited Bangui in November
[1989]. Accompanied by five other deputies and a senior army official, the team
was reviewing the role of French forces based in the CAR. Their role, particularly
that of the forces at Bouar, is principally to act as a rapid strike force and
back-up for French forces which helped to keep Hissène Habré in
power in Chad. Now that mediators [such as Omar Bongo of Gabon?] are attempting
to reach a lasting settlement between Chad and Libya, the French role in the
CAR may seem less important (EIU Country Report, "Central African Republic,"
1st Quarter 1990, p. 25)

1990
the French Assemblée Nationale [passed a] law to cancel debt payments
due to the Caisse Centrale de Coopération Economique (CCCE) this year
[1990]. This... provides assurance that Paris will adhere to the debt relief
initiative announced in Dakar in May 1989. (EIU Country Report, "Central
African Republic," 1st Quarter 1990, p. 30)

Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore. Africa Since 1800. 3rd ed.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981. Cf. the origin of the concessionary
system in the Congo basin.

Before the coming of the river-steamers in the 1880s very
little trade had passed by water through the forest centre to the Congo mouth...
There was no worthwhile exchange of European manufactures against African produce
on which [potential] colonisers could build, as they had been able to in West
Africa. No government could support itself by levying customs on the trade passing
through Buma or Libreville, still less raise a loan for the building of railways
round the Congo cataracts or south from the upper Kasai to Katanga. The finance
required for such projects was 'risk capital', which had to be attracted by
the possibility of long-term gains in order to offset the lack of immediate
results. In these circumstances, the time-honoured solution was that followed
in railway development in North and South America - private capital was attracted
by grants of land and mineral rights in the area to be opened up.
Such was in fact the origin of the system of concessionaire companies which
was to become the distinguishing feature of the colonial history of this region.
In 1886 King Leopold made the first contract of this kind with the Compagnie
du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (CCCI) under which the company agreed
to build a railway round the lower Congo rapids from Matadi to Leopoldville,
in exchange for which it could claim 1,500 hectares (a little over 14 square
kilometres) for every kilometre of line constructed. Thus, the lower Congo railway
alone involved the alienation of nearly 8,000 square kilometres. No sooner was
it completed in 1898 than similar contracts were made with two other companies...
All the land conceded in this way was in theory 'waste land', the villages of
the Congolese and the land actually under cultivation by them being excluded.
But since land was useless without labour, every form of pressure was put upon
local inhabitants to work for the concessionaire companies. The worst abuses
occurred during the period from about 1895 to 1905, when the invention of pneumatic
rubber tyres for bicycles and motor-cars was causing a great demand for rubber.
In the long term this demand was met by the development of rubber plantations
in South-East Asia. While the boom in wild rubber lasted, however, very large
profits indeed were made by the concessionaire companies in the Congo. In theory
these companies employed, but in practice compelled, their Congolese neighbours
to tap rubber in the forests, usually for very small rewards. The profits secured
in this way aroused the greed of King Leopold, who took over and managed himself
large areas of Crown land. Others he leased to private companies on a profit-sharing
basis. The system proved so attractive that it spread into French Equatorial
African. Here the French government saw in it a means of reducing the large
annual deficits which had been accumulating since the beginning of colonial
rule. In both territories the worse abuses of the system were brought to an
end between 1906 and 1910, when the end of the wild rubber boom coincided with
an outcry by international public opinion. In 1908 King Leopold was forced to
cede the Congo to Belgium. In an effort to provide a more direct administration
and to cut down expenses, France in 1910 joined the four territories of Gabon,
Middle Congo, Oubangui-Chari and Tchad into the federation of French Equatorial
Africa... capital at Brazzaville. Both the French and Belgian governments, however,
had contracts with the concessionaire companies which they could fulfil only
by leaving the companies in possession of large areas of land and with commercial
monopolies over still larger areas. The Belgian Congo was further burdened with
the enormous debt which King Leopold had incurred by borrowing money on the
Congo's account and spending it on his palaces and other public buildings in
Belgium. The interest on the debt at one time absorbed nearly a fifth of the
country's revenue. (Oliver and Atmore, Africa Since 1880, pp. 137-138)

There was a boat that seemed to meet the [Marchand] mission's
needs admirably, the large, detachable, relatively new Léon XIII, owned
by the Catholic diocese of the Upper Ubangi. But crusty Bishop Prosper-Philippe
Augouard, fierce apostle of a church that regarded the republic served by Marchand
as satanic, refused to discuss the matter, even after the modest tender of one
hundred thousand francs. Whatever slim prospects there were for obtaining the
Léon XIII had probably been dashed months earlier when Baratier, on Marchand's
orders, had turned back a Catholic caravan in order to keep the Brazzaville
route opened to essential civil and military supplies." (Lewis, The Race
to Fashoda, p. 176.)

The Central African minister of foreign affairs, Jean-Louis
Psimhis, and the French cooperation minister, Michel Aurillac, headed their
respective delegations at the meeting of the two countries' joint commission
in Bangui in early December [1987]. France provided 75 per cent of gross official
development assistance to the CAR in 1981-85, according to OECD figures, and
its pivotal role has not diminished since (EIU Country Report, "Central
African Republic," 1st Quarter 1988, p. 21)

AUSTEN

Austen Ralph A. and Rita Headrick, “Equatorial Africa
under colonial rule.” In David Birmingham and Phyllis M. Martin, eds.,
History of Central Africa, Vol. II. London and New York: Longman, 1983, pp.
27-94.

Axmin Inc. of Canada explored explored for gold on the Bambari
permit. Following the discovery of iron ore at Topa in the northern part of
Bambari, Axmin's license was amened to include the right to explore for ferrous
and base metals (Harbin, P. W. and J.M. Harris, "Central African Republic."
Mining Annual Review 2003, Mining Journal Ltd. CD-ROM, 2003.)

Grynberg Petroleum Company of the United States held a concession
in the Doseo and Salamat basins that covered 55,000 sq. kilometers (Africa Energy
Intelligence, "Central African Republic: Outlook Brightens for Grynberg."
(Africa Energy Intelligence, 343 (2-15 April 2003):4.)